The Invisible Wiccan

January 03, 2011 by Star Foster

Continued from Page 1

Today, many people from history are broadly whitewashed as nominal Christians because we lack windows into their hearts. Today we cannot decide if Shinto is a religion when it has thrived for unbroken generations, because it is measured against Christianity or Islam, both religions with central texts. It is easier to study a text of a religion than to engage in studying an experiential religion. It's worth wondering if academics are more likely to dismiss a religion as folk practice if it cannot be studied at arm's length.

I'm not a historian or academic, but this "invisible Wiccan" sounds plausible. She sounds like people I've met. Parts of her story mirror parts of mine. If a modern Wiccan can fall invisible to the eyes of history so easily, then it makes one wonder how many "invisible Pagans" have fallen through the cracks. There is no way to know the hearts of Europeans long passed, but if we cannot prove that their folk practice makes them Pagan, then doesn't that doubt also count against considering them Christian? If Beltane revels do not a Pagan make, can we then say Easter service makes a Christian? It seems to me that our history has room for more doubt and wonder than it's been given.

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About Star Foster

A hopeless movie junkie, Star Foster believes that good movies are the mythic narratives of our times.

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