What is the difference........

between wiccan and pagan? I dont know that much about either but would like to know the basic differences between the two..........
thanks!

 

Wicca refers to a specific religion, whereas pagan is a general category...

 

Thanks........general category for what? Religions that worship earth and have many different gods and goddesses? Any more info would be cool because I no nothing about it at all and would like to know a little more........

 

all wiccans are pagan, but not all pagans are wiccan. other pagan religions include strega, gaian paganism, druidism, discordianism, church of all worlds, and santeria, voodoo and the other african diaspora religions are often included. some people consider asatru to be a pagan religion, but all the asatru i've met personally strongly prefer the term "heathen".

pagan is a general term for a group of earth-centered and reconstructionist faiths. the term was first used to refer to these faiths, loosely tying them together and giving them something in common, by oberon zell, former primate of the church of all worlds (he is no longer affiliated with CAW.) before that they really didn't see themselves as having anything to do with each other. in the broadest, general terms, pagan faiths are usually earth-focused, often polytheistic, and have some sort of a belief in magic.

 

Uhh... Yeah that's ^^ what I meant... Hehe

 

Oh, thank you. That's exactly what I wanted to know
Thanks to you too soulless chaos

 

Kitty summed it up quite well

 

Pretty much. there are a zillion different websites that cover this sort of thing... try www.wicca.com or www.witchvox.com as an intro.

 

Thanks to all who posted here, it really helped.

I also have a question.
In saying you're 'pagan' do you have to fall into a specific group within, or could you just be a 'general' pagan and assume all different belifs from different groups?

 

Either, whichever you'd prefer.

I'm pretty much eclectic, certainly started out that way. Yet I've lots of Buddhist influences, Gaea is one of my favourite goddesses [Greek] and probably some other things in the mix too. And I still keep learning about other practises, to keep an open minded and no miss any good ideas.
Though after doing a lot of studying and thinking have gravitated towards mainly celtic practises (no suprise really, have that ancestry), not that I'd necessarily profess to be a celt. I think eventually you just find a niche, and things fit together more easily.

Seems a lot of pagans are eclectic. There's no harm in that at all. Most spiritualities are mix of beliefs. The only problem comes if you come up with some really bizzare/incompatable combinations or are ignorant about the origins of those practises/beliefs.
As long as you are being honest and do your homework it's fine. It probably takes more research to get it right, as you're pretty much building it from scratch.

Consider like Christianity. Obviously there are Catholics, Anglicans etc and if you ask them sometimes they'll say 'I'm Christian', other times 'I'm [specific denomination]'. Both would be accurate.

 

You dont have to do anything, you can assume all beliefs from one group, or mix and match the different ones, and add your own beliefs from your meditations or experiences.