By Hank Hanegraaff
Wicca is a neopagan, earth-centered religion that has its modern origins in the teaching and practice of the original English Wiccan, Gerald Gardner (1884–1964). Over the past few decades, Wicca has experienced dramatic growth as teens reject what they perceive as Christian paternalism, homophobia, and insensitivity to the environment. While stereotypes of Wiccans as Satanists or sinister spell-casters are spurious, the worldviews of Christianity and Wicca are nonetheless worlds apart.
First, Wicca—also known as “The Craft” or “The Old Religion”—holds that all reality is divine. Thus, Wiccans revere the natural world as a living, breathing organism, and they revere people as “gods” and “goddesses.” Since Wicca is a distinctively feminist form of neopaganism, how- ever, Wiccans often consider the supreme manifestation of deity to be a nature goddess (such as the Triple Goddess of the Moon). In sharp contrast to the Christian world- view, Wiccans worship creation rather than the Creator (cf. Romans 1:25). While the Bible does teach that people should care for the environment (Genesis 2:15; Deuteronomy 20:19–20; Psalm 115:16) and appreciate its magnificence (Psalm 19; Matthew 6:28–30), our worship belongs only to the Creator whose glory is reflected in creation (Job 38–41; Psalm 148; Romans 1).
Furthermore, the supreme ethical rule of Wicca is the Wiccan Rede: “If it harms none, do as ye Will.” Despite this proscription against harming others, Wiccans hold that moral and religious truths are ultimately relative. Thus, while the Wiccan Rede sets the Craft apart from the malevolent activities of Satanists, the Wiccan worldview stands in direct opposition to the biblical notions of absolute moral truth and exclusive salvation through Jesus Christ who alone is “the way and the truth and the life” (John 14:6).
Finally, Wiccans practice magick (spelled with a k to differentiate it from conjuring for entertainment) in an attempt to manipulate the natural world and alter mental and material conditions. As such, Wicca is an esoteric occult practice designed to manipulate reality in concert with the Wiccan’s will. Tools of the Craft include swords and spell books, as well as chalices, censers, cords, and crystals. Regardless of whether the motivation is benevolent or malevolent, Scripture unequivocally condemns all occult practices as detestable to the Lord (Deuteronomy 18:10–12; Acts 13:6–11; 16:16–18; Galatians 5:19–21).
There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, or one who practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or one who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead.
Deuteronomy 18:10–11 NKJV
For further study, see Richard G. Howe, “Modern Witchcraft: It May Not Be What You Think,” Christian Research Journal 28, 1 (2005).
***Note the preceding text is adapted from The Complete Bible Answer Book: Collector’s Edition: Revised and Expanded (2024). To receive for your partnering gift please click here. ***