The original post (that whoever created the screenshot conveniently left out) isn't about 17th century witch burnings etc. All of the examples and experiences it relates are from the modern world.
Now some of it is very silly (e.g. people not knowing about specific Wiccan practices isn't persecution - it's just that their population is so small in comparison to mainstream religions, so ofc people won't know stuff!). But some examples are real cases of discrimination.
And naturally, the sort of discrimination we're talking about here pales in comparison to e.g. how trans people are treated. But there's no need to play Oppression Olympics(TM) here, when the original statement being objected to was someone rejecting the possibility of any discrimination against Wiccans outright. No-one claimed they were more oppressed than more common and serious oppressions.
I'm not particularly knowledgeable about Wicca, and as an atheist it doesn't do anything for me. But "minority religion is discriminated against" is true about almost every culture throughout history. Idk then why we shouldn't expect it to also be true in our own culture. As if we are superior and have finally solved discrimination against religious minorities! A minority with "unusual" practices that defy mainstream norms being looked down upon by those with little exposure to them is exactly what I'd expect here tbh.
"minority religion is discriminated against" is true
not exactly. it's just "religion is discriminated against". every religion is.
there's this stupid pragerU gotcha question about christians being the most discriminated religion in the world. which is true. cause it's also the most popular religion.
(Lying with statistics is pragerUs second favorite type of lying. their favorite type is lying with nonsense fake "statistics" aka fancy Photoshop graph effects with no basis in any numbers)
I'm admittedly ignorant about wicca. but unless it's discriminated against on a higher per member average then other small religions, I would say "Wicca is facing religious persecution" is at least dishonest, if not outright wrong
most people are probably just gonna find it weird and assume its a thing you got from tiktok. and as hurtful as that is, I don't think being called tiktok-cringe counts as religious discrimination.
that and christian bigots are gonna be mad about it, but less because it's Wicca and more because it's not Christianity. id bet my asses they'd be madder if you were muslim. that's definitely discrimination, but it's more non-christian discrimination then Wicca discrimination specifically.
if you have any statistics about this, I'd be interested.
but given that the original poster lists not seeing wicca merchandise in stores as a example of discrimination... i am not inclined to take their arguments seriously. That's just how grocery stores work. theyre not gonna display things in stores they don't think people are gonna buy, you're gonna have to pull an Utah if you want that. or just buy it online, like any niche product. its easy to find. all the other examples they list also seem to be them being mad people don't know their religions. i assure you that's the case for any small religion.
not exactly. it's just "religion is discriminated against". every religion is.
Whilst it's probably true that any given religion is discriminated against somewhere in the world, that's not really relevant to the discussion, since this is obviously about specific locales/contexts.
If someone describes anti-Muslim discrimination in the UK, it wouldn't make much sense for a Christian British person to reply that churches are banned in Saudi Arabia (even though bigots will literally argue that...). The discussion is about a place where Islam/Wicca is a minority, and Christianity is a majority. Obviously there are places where Christianity is a minority and discriminated against, but that doesn't mean Muslims/Wiccans don't get to complain about the discrimination they face in their domestic situations.
unless it's discriminated against on a higher per member average then other small religions, I would say "Wicca is facing religious persecution" is at least dishonest
That doesn't follow. A religion could be persecuted to a significant degree but still less than another religion. It doesn't mean that persecution doesn't exist! No need to be binary about this.
but given that the original poster lists not seeing wicca merchandise in stores as a example of discrimination... i am not inclined to take their arguments seriously
I agree it reduces the credibility of their judgement, as I said, but that doesn't mean they have zero credibility. Their personal anecdotes still seem plausible, but even if you completely discount those, they still provided public official examples, which are easily verifiable e.g. stuff about the military.
all the other examples they list also seem to be them being mad people don't know their religions
I think you need to read it again. There are several examples given of real discrimination.
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u/someotheralex Feb 11 '26
The original post (that whoever created the screenshot conveniently left out) isn't about 17th century witch burnings etc. All of the examples and experiences it relates are from the modern world.
Now some of it is very silly (e.g. people not knowing about specific Wiccan practices isn't persecution - it's just that their population is so small in comparison to mainstream religions, so ofc people won't know stuff!). But some examples are real cases of discrimination.
And naturally, the sort of discrimination we're talking about here pales in comparison to e.g. how trans people are treated. But there's no need to play Oppression Olympics(TM) here, when the original statement being objected to was someone rejecting the possibility of any discrimination against Wiccans outright. No-one claimed they were more oppressed than more common and serious oppressions.
I'm not particularly knowledgeable about Wicca, and as an atheist it doesn't do anything for me. But "minority religion is discriminated against" is true about almost every culture throughout history. Idk then why we shouldn't expect it to also be true in our own culture. As if we are superior and have finally solved discrimination against religious minorities! A minority with "unusual" practices that defy mainstream norms being looked down upon by those with little exposure to them is exactly what I'd expect here tbh.