This document discusses different perspectives on witchcraft in modern society. It examines the views of teenagers who practice Wicca, atheists who see witchcraft as promoting religious diversity, fundamentalist Christians who believe witchcraft is satanic, and charismatic Christians who agree it is satanic but emphasize God's love. The document also explores how witchcraft is portrayed in popular culture and considers whether it poses a danger. Overall, it aims to provide an overview of the debate around witchcraft's role in society from various religious viewpoints.

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Lucas Somma
Ms. Cipriano
Junior English Blue
25 January 2014
Witchcraft in the 21st Century
From Harry Potter to Florence + The Machine, and from Pentecostal glossolalia to “The
Secret”, it’s apparent that our ever changing culture is taking on a new identity of
supernaturalism. Individually and collectively we must now ask ourselves where witchcraft (for
our purposes, witchcraft will be a synonym for paganism/polytheism or occultic religion) fits in
our kindled fondness to ultra-spiritualism. Is witchcraft dangerous or generally beneficial?
Should it be tossed as too far from reality, or accepted as a plausible theory to how the universe
works? Viewpoints from teen Wiccans, tolerant Atheists, zealous Fundamentalists and love-bent
Charismatics clash elegentally.
“I know Wicca is right for me” (Hodges, “How I Found Wicca”) writes Jasmine Hodges,
a regular contributor to TeenInk.com. Hodges’ comes from a seemingly conservative family,
where Christianity or Catholicism (not specified) is the default religion, and the basis for all
spiritual truth. Her family is observably hostile towards Wicca (a form of polytheism, and for our
purpose “Witchcraft”) and its followers, as Hodges’tells us that “I was taught that if you weren’t
Christian than you would forever be tormented in Hell with the Devil.” The constant pressure to
follow the monotheistic and obnoxiously authoritative God of the Bible and to despise
wickedness is a possible motive for deterring herself from her family’s religious identity, and
arriving to Wicca. However, I empathetically say that despite her questionable motives for
picking up the religion, Wicca is very real to her. Hodges’ states that when she was forbidden to

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research her religion of interest, she “...felt lost without it.” The devout of polytheistic religions
may seem to be overzealously obsessed in strange fairy tales, yet in the heart is a desire for
something greater than ourselves. Witchcraft or in this case, Wicca, is just one manifestation of
humanity's overpowering supernatural desire.
This of course leaves us with the question, what is witchcraft to the ones who’ve
abandoned the concept of an immense spiritual power involved with humanity’s affairs? To
skeptic and formerly close-minded evangelical Daniel Florien, Wicca is an opportunity to
broaden America’s religious borders. He claims that the “...obvious way to combat this [religious
intolerance, especially from evangelicals] is to increase America’s religious diversity” (Florien,
“Atheists and Wicca”). He believes that Wicca (or witchcraft) is generally good for society, as it
invokes contemplation of truth, and a well-balanced world view. He says that when, “your
neighbor is Wiccan, your brother is an atheist, your in-laws are mystics and your children are
dabbling in new religions at college, it is going to be hard for you to think of your local Baptist
church as the only real religion and that everything else as superstition”. However, it is important
to mention that despite Florien’s unique acceptance of Wiccans and those outside Christianity, he
is still a faithful Atheist. He makes the claim that, “Things I thought could not happen without
divine intervention ended up being within the laws of probability. Coincidence really exists”
(Florien, “About”). In the end, all religion is likely chalked up to a fallible, excessive sense of
superstition in the eyes of most Atheists. Wicca/witchcraft is tolerated, but only as an agenda
item for a rich cultural diversity.
Is witchcraft and a love of the occult tainting our society? Many Fundamentalist
Christians believe so. In fact, one Fundamentalist goes as far as to say that the “...truth is that
witchcraft is real, and so is the unchanging Christian prohibition against it” (Harvey, “Heresy in

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the Hood II: Witchcraft among Children and Teens in America”). For the most part,
Fundamental Christianity has a strong and hostile attitude when confronting social-religious
issues of our time. By that, I mean that not only is the occult/witchcraft active in our world,
Satan is using it to subtly influence humanity (especially the youth). A proud and boisterous
Fundamentalist, Linda P. Harvey, comments on Satan’s recent attacks of our culture:
No one has to hunt for witches anymore; they may own the house next door.
Children are being lovingly primed to embrace paganism by movies, games, TV,
the Internet and countless sorcery–friendly books. There is certainly no parallel in
current pop culture to the Harry Potter books. Not only the books themselves but
a plethora of offshoots abound, from The Sorcerer’s Companion: A Guide to the
Magical World of Harry Potter by Allan Zola Kronzek and Elizabeth Kronzek, to
The Everything Kids’ Witches and Wizards Book by L.T. Samuels.
Yet, despite her claims of demonic opposition to Christianity by means of the occult, Harvey
offers a solution to the woes of witchcraft, “...how can so–called Christians be thoughtlessly
disloyal to Him [God], violating the first and second commandments, by casually exploring
witchcraft or letting their children anywhere near it?” Harvey’s solution to witchcraft is two-fold,
be loyal to God by following the first and second commandments (both have to do with the sin of
idolatry), which is done by avoiding witchcraft all together. Fundamentalist Christianity
apparently acknowledges witchcraft as a very real religion, and one that causes mass destruction
in an already godless society. The solution is to repent, abandon, and avoid (as a side note, it’s
important to realize that the fundamentalists of the three Abrahamic faiths generally agree with
each other on this. Witchcraft/occultism/paganism is a grave danger to the world today, in the
eyes of Old Testament based zealots.)

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As a Charismatic-Christian focused primarily on the love of God (although, I must admit,
I am prone to fail at loving at all times), I must confess my belief that witchcraft is indeed
Satanic. By witchcraft, I mean harvesting supernatural power that isn’t from the Holy Spirit. God
equips us to love God and love people with a number of gifts (for some references as to what
these gifts are specifically, view 1 Corinthians 12, Romans 12, and Ephesians 4). Any “signs and
wonders” that aren’t from God, are by default Satanic. This includes white magick, which claims
to use supernatural forces for good. However, the Bible warns us that many people will appear to
be doing good, but in fact, serve on behalf of the father of lies. Of course many in polytheism
who act on behalf of their god/goddess, don’t believe in the Devil. I believe (based on Bible
knowledge coped with personal experience) that humanity follows Satan by default, since
humanity was removed from the Garden of Eden and forced to live without the glorious presence
of God. Whether we know it or not, we follow Satan (who is notorious for staying under the
radar) until we realize God’s desire for us to be thwarted from Hell and into His blood-stained
bosom (which is the proverbial Garden of Eden). I agree with the Fundamentalist claim that
witchcraft is Satanic, but I believe God’s love for us is so much greater. I believe that Satan has
been defeated, and his demonic power on earth is limited to those who are still under his control.
I despise any bit of theology that says that Satan has any authority over the children of God
(those who love Him back, since we’ve been given free will.) The Bible-writer St. Paul mentions
that we should not let anyone decide for us what we believe concerning minute social-religious
issues. Therefore, I will listen to Florence + The Machine, read Harry Potter, watch Oprah’s
religious views on television, play with Pokemon cards, study Greek mythology, check-up on my
horoscope, and celebrate new moon festivals if my heart so desires. Why? At the end of the day,
the gates of Hell shall not prevail against me.

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Witchcraft and the occult have been the topic of interest to most religious groups for
quite some time. Although it’s likely that your opinion on polytheistic, power-inducing religions
has already been formed long ago, a glance above our own perspectives could change our focus
on the issue. It’s apparent that witchcraft is indeed alive and well in our society today, but
exactly how do we view it?
Works Cited
Hodges, Jasmine. “How I found Wicca.” Teen Ink. n.p. n.d. Web. 25 Jan. 2014.
Vorjack [Daniel Florien]. “Atheists and Wicca”. UnreasonableFaith. Patheos. 10 Dec. 2011.
Web.
25 Jan. 2014.
Vorjack [Daniel Florien]. “About”. UnreasonableFaith. Patheos. n.d. Web. 25 Jan. 2014.

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Harvey, Linda P. “Heresy in the Hood II: Witchcraft among Children and Teens in America.”
Jesus-Is-Savior. Public Domain. 2002. Web. 25 Jan. 2014