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Paganism and prejudice If you had magical powers, how would you use them? To get rich? Or to put a hex on your enemy? In the modern world, most tend to dismiss witchcraft and witches as fantasies. In any cultures, magic is animate and its practitioners are admired and feared. In the U.S. today the most misunderstood religion is paganism. Paganism today is a general term used for all followers of Wicca and other magical, Shamanistic and polytheistic religions. Some typical quotations, which demonstrate this meaning of “pagan”: "Witchcraft, or Wicca, is considered part of the occult, but has little relationship to Satanism. Wicca is pagan (pre-Christian, as opposed to anti-Christian) and is currently gaining popularity." (Tucker, Rob) "Witches do not worship the devil...Witches are more interested in magical arts and the divinity of nature...Wiccans are considered pagans because they worship several nature gods instead of a single god." (McDowell & Stewart) "The World Christian Encyclopedia estimates 6 million Americans profess to be witches and engage in practices like these. They are a sub-group of over 10 million persons the encyclopedia says call themselves pagans, who practice "primitive" religions such as Druidism,