inclusive Wicca survey results

I finally got around to doing an analysis of the survey on inclusive Wicca that I ran over Yuletide.

You can download the results and commentary from my academia.edu page, or from Google Drive.



The most interesting set of responses were those on same-sex initiation. 49.4% agreed or strongly agreed that it is a valid Wiccan practice, and 17.3% were not sure, with 33.3% disagreeing or strongly disagreeing.  For this set of responses, I did a breakdown by country and tradition (see page 6 of the full document).  34 respondents who said they were from the USA disagreed that same-sex initiation was a valid Wiccan practice. However, a majority of the rest of the world (Canada, Australia, and mainland Europe) and the UK agrees that same-sex initiation is a valid Wiccan practice.

Breaking the responses down by tradition was also interesting. Gardnerian respondents were fairly evenly divided with 46 agreeing that same-sex initiation is a valid practice, 42 disagreeing, 24 not sure, and 3 not stated (the response was left blank). Twenty-nine of the Gardnerians who disagreed were from the USA. Nine of the Gardnerians who agreed with SSI were from the USA. So, in these survey results, it appears that most of the opposition to same sex initiation is coming from the USA.
Another very controversial area was around mental health and Wicca. Most people felt that it depended on the type of mental health issue as to whether Wicca was a good fit for people. Clearly, more research is needed in this area, as it is hard to draw a definite conclusion from this result, given the huge variety of mental health issues, and varying degrees of knowledge of them, and varying views about magical practices and their compatibility with mental health. My personal view is that it should be up to the person with the mental health issue to determine whether they can cope with a Wiccan circle on any given day.

Comments

  1. Depending on the mental health issue, the person may not be capable of determining whether they can cope with a Wiccan circle on a particular day, and the effect on other coven members and on the ritual, as well as safety for all concerned are also very important considerations. I most certainly wouldn't think its in an way a good idea for a person going through a manic or psychotic episode to take part in a ritual, however much they want to and believe that they can, or think they are God/dess!

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    Replies
    1. That's your prerogative - but would you exclude a person with mental health issues all the time, or only when they are having an episode?

      Delete
  2. I don't believe sex should be a part of any initiation process. There is too thin a line between the ability to consent and the possibility of pressure to preform. The "priest" is in a position of power and that lends itself to the possibility of abuse from the get go. Inclusion of all in a practice is fantastic. Requiring sex to become a member, not so much.

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    Replies
    1. I completely agree. Sex is not required for any initiation into Wicca.

      When we refer to same-sex initiation, we are talking about a person who is biologically male initiating another person who is biologically male, or a person who is biologically female initiating another person who is biologically female.

      Currently, the majority of Wiccans only accept as valid an initiation where a a person who is biologically female initiated another person who is biologically male, or where a person who is biologically male initiated another person who is biologically female. That's what the argument is about.

      Delete

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