is it me, or does witchcraft seem less a religion and more a philosophy?

Belief in and reverence for a supernatural power or powers regarded as creator and governor of the universe.
A personal or institutionalized system grounded in such belief and worship.
The life or condition of a person in a religious order.
A set of beliefs, values, and practices based on the teachings of a spiritual leader.
A cause, principle, or activity pursued with zeal or conscientious devotion.

philosophy
Love and pursuit of wisdom by intellectual means and moral self-discipline.
Investigation of the nature, causes, or principles of reality, knowledge, or values, based on logical reasoning rather than empirical methods.
A system of thought based on or involving such inquiry: the philosophy of Hume.
The critical analysis of fundamental assumptions or beliefs.
The disciplines presented in university curriculums of science and the liberal arts, except medicine, law, and theology.
The discipline comprising logic, ethics, aesthetics, metaphysics, and epistemology.
A set of ideas or beliefs relating to a particular field or activity; an underlying theory: an original philosophy of advertising.
A system of values by which one lives: has an unusual philosophy of life.

I can see referring to druidism or wicca as a designated religion...but the general belief of magick...wouldn't that be more of a philosophy?

Religion is just organized philosophy

Witchcraft is neither philosophy or religion. Its a wide ranging set of practices delivered and supported by religious or philosophical means.It can exist objectivly, if it even exists at all.

well of course witchcraft exists silly, it's in the dictionary

lol. Personally I think all magick, excluding Druidism, is a practiced Philosophy.

philosophy is just a belief system so most any religion could be considered philosophical to an individual. religion, however, is supposed to be considered innate because everyone wants to think theirs is the only correct religion. i think this is why most would consider them different.

personally, i don't need a label for either. i can believe what i believe and call it whatever i want and it would not make a difference.

-hex

*flicks through the dictionary to J*

Oh bugger! Jabberwockys are real

I think there is a lot of philosophy involved but other stuff too.

I think wicca would be classed as a religion, simply due to the worship of the goddess and god.... *ponders* that would have to make it a religion, wouldn't it?

Buddhism is a religion.. yet there is no worship of a god or goddess.

this is true....

*nods*

i'm using the term of witchcraft as a catch all for the arts of magick...not relating to wicca specifically, i'm just not sure if witchcraft can be classified as a religion...wicca, buddhism, christianity, even druidism...they all have an organizational structure saying..practice this, pray to this, do this, this is the way...witchcraft seems less about organization, and more of a personal practice...wouldn't that suggest a more philosophical approach, using witchcraft as an enhancement for personal religion rather than as one itself?

I'll go with that Jordyn... except for the fact that I do sometimes work with one goddess or another even though Im not wiccan.... what do you think that would be?

aside from weird of course :p

That is one of the more interesting points, Witchcraft is not Wiccan, and yet Wicca is mainy witchcraft, and due to this many Wiccan sites, seem to Imply that All Witches are Wiccan.
I would say that every magickal practice has a personal no god orientated group, except Druidism, but only because of the Druidic focus.

i think a poster already mentioned about a deity not being necessary for a religion...deities are just a choice of practice...when people ask your religion, are you able to name it specifically, able to assing yourself to some group organization?

i don't know, maybe this has come down to what makes a religion?

but your's is an example of why i came to the conclusion it may just be a philosophy...most everyone who practices a pagan art in some manner have their own reasons, views, and even individual methods of practice...the only time there's any repetiveness or a once size fits all type of worship that is what i associate a religion with...

can a non religious person worship?

hmm...what would they worship? i suppose it mainly depends on whether that person believed in a higher power or not.

philosophy is a part of any religion, that's why there's so much debate over beliefs, at least that's what i think. witchcraft, though not an organized religion, does have some religious backing to it, thereby creating philosophical theories on it. one may practice witchcraft as one may practice judiasm. there are beliefs attributed to both even though witchcraft isn't organized into a religion, per se.

i suppose it depends on personal viewpoint.
some may see it as a philosophy while others may see it as a religion, whatever works for that person..............