Wicca (the noun, "Wiccan" the adjective) is identified as a
neo-pagan spiritual tradition (I use that latter term loosely in this case) which is highly syncretic and eclectic in its development as well as its methods. For all intents and purposes it IS a fabricated spiritual tradition in the truest sense of the word "fabrication". Compare this to a spiritual tradition based on historical reconstruction, as found in
polytheistic reconstructionism, and you will get a sense of the very difference between the two stypes of spirituality.
[I've left a few links there to various entries on Wikipedia with respect to the common definitions of thse terms. Please note that Wikipedia is not the last word on such definitions but it does provide a good grounding in terms of concepts to be explored.]
Coming back to the term Neo-paganism then, you will find that most adherents of Polytheistic Reconstructionism (of which Heathenry is a part) do not employ the word "neo-pagan" to denote their pagan tradition. Clearly there is nothing "new" about it since it is deeply rooted in history, a history, I will remind people, that has been driven underground due to Christian conversions but which has nonetheless left its defiantly indelible mark in the Roman Catholic Church. (Refer to Ottar's excellent post with respect to this matter).
Thus we are NOT neo-pagan, but pagan. And I even have some Heathen friends who despise the very term "pagan" due to its derogatory nature. In the end though, we are just modern-day folk who follow older spiritual folk customs.
How does this tie into the concept of "faith" then?
In our spiritual tradition, there is no sense of "faith" as in the Christian tradition. The concept of "faith" is very much an Abrahamic concept stemming from the recorded (his)stories as found in the Pentateuch itself, the most significant of course being the (his)story of Abraham in the Book of Genesis. Here we learn of the ultimate exercise of faith in the Judaeo-Christian God when Abraham is requested by God to sacrifice his one and only son Isaac. This (his)story is indeed the very foundation of the Judaeo-Christian concept of "faith". Faith is the very linchpin of this spiritual tradition.
Compare this to Germanic Heathen Lore then and you'll not find any such theme of "faith" in this sense. Interactions of humans and deities and other beings in the Heathen spiritual custom are not based on placing one's fate (and therefore by extension faith) in the hands of another but in oneself (which plays into one's as well as others' wyrd(s)) along with the spiritual energy provided by one's hamingja.
Indeed when studied further one starts appreciating the very different natures of a Heathen mindset and a Christian mindset. In essence they are worlds apart.
But such a statement is simplifying things to the point of ridiculousness I'm afraid to say. Heathenry is far from being an atheistic tradition. In fact I would counter that there is no such concept in Heathenry. One might interpret deities and other beings in the multiverse in very different ways, but Heathens do recognise the importance of their myths (which does not mean falsehoods btw as Christians are apt to interpret the word) and the significance of the stories of the deities and other beings in their myths. I would suspect it is only a spiritually immature Germanic Heathen that would make a comment as you've stated above.
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