Your Religion Is Completely Unoriginal

Do you have an altar? Then your religion is completely unoriginal.

Do you worship a God who is a father? Then your religion is completely unoriginal.

Do you religiously partake of bread and wine? Then your religion is completely unoriginal.

Did your God die and rise to life again? Then your religion is completely unoriginal.

Do you sing and/or light candles during worship? Then your religion is completely unoriginal.

Do you worship a Goddess identified with the moon? Then your religion is completely unoriginal.

It was implied recently that I’m a Wiccan “Soup-Nazi” for stating that Wicca is a recognizable path and deserves respect, as all Pagan religions do. Of course, the elements that make up Wicca are completely unoriginal, but does it then follow that the religion is worthless? Of course not, because then every religion is worthless, and as a religious person I cannot accept that premise.

Religion isn’t about who is the most unique or who did what first. We would all be reading the Vedas or Hymns to Inanna if age and originality were so very important to us. Religion is about what gives us meaning and helps us to be more mindfully present in the world. So, while there may be nothing new under the sun, that does not mean that the constellations that make up each religion are the less for each having been made up of stars.

I can recognize Judaism when I see it, and it is not the less for it’s borrowings from other Middle Eastern and East African religions. The cult of Serapis thrived for centuries despite the fact that the cult was a deliberate and carefully choreographed blending of Greek and Egyptian religion. This ancient blending and borrowing doesn’t illegitimatize Judaism or Serapism, but enhances it.

So yes, like every other religion, Wicca is a conglomeration of unoriginal practices. How they fit together to form a cohesive whole, however, is important. Wicca, despite it’s cobbled-together and mysterious roots, is a solid tradition in and of itself. You know Wicca when you see it, and you know when you don’t. It doesn’t resemble Hellenismos or Asatru or Christianity or Sunni Islam.

So yes, Wicca deserves respect, especially from those who practice it. That said, Wicca is not a bludgeon to wield against other Pagan religions, or a parent to speak for it’s “children” who may be minorities in the greater Pagan community. Wicca’s place is alongside the other Pagan religions, not before them or behind them, as we push into the future. Wicca’s strange success can inform other Pagan religions, while Wicca has a lot to learn about family-focus and sustainability from religions such as Hellenismos and Asatru.

In the end, whatever language you wrap it up in, none of us have copyrighted faiths and we all benefit from working together out of mutual respect and committed diversity.