Darkmakaimura said:
They do. They're called Wiccans in the U.S. My ex is a witch (Wiccan, more accurately). Glad we never took a trip to Nigeria.
Witches, warlocks, wizards and shamans exist (or have existed) in various belief systems around the world. Though the actual efficacy of their magic is always in question, their influence in their societies (through dint of authority) could often be very deep.
Wicca is a late 19th and early 20th century attempt to revive the pre-Christian Celtic/druidic beliefs of Britain and Northern Europe. Much of its symbology comes from Judeo-Christian mysticism and not a few of its beliefs come from mistaken Victorian notions of what these older religions actually entailed (they left no writing or holy books so much of what their beliefs were was and remains conjecture). There is no line of continuity linking these older religions to Wicca at all, however, and it is a relatively recent phenomenon.
Magic, as practised by the European pagan religions, hasn't existed for over a thousand years. Judeo-Christian mysticism replaced them during the dark ages and its practise seemed to be the exclusive domain of the rich and educated until the 19th century when it became popular among the masses and encouraged the foundation of various belief systems, like Wicca.
Despite this, like in modern Africa, European
fear of witchcraft and baleful magic remained even when actual practitioners of magic were no longer present. Thus, inexplicable problems in rural areas would sometimes be blamed on witches and you'd get results like the Salem witch trials.
African witchcraft seems rooted in specifically African religious beliefs. I have no doubt that it is still regularly practised in some places, but it would largely have disappeared in areas that have been radically christianised or islamicised (like the areas in which these churches operate). Like medieval Europe, the
fear of the witchcraft, however, remains deep in the African psyche, which leads to this sort of thing.
Not to defend these particular churches, but witchhunts like these were happening long before evangelical christianity ever came to Nigeria. The difference is that now the abusers wear suits and ties and carry bibles.
