No... quite the reverse is often true.
Yes it is.
A Witch is someone who practices WitchCraft. Witches could follow any religion that accepts WitchCraft. (The word Wtch does not mean Female. A male could also practice Witchcaft, and be called as a Witch) Many Witches follow a pagan religion. There is a large number of Witches who follow Wicca as their religon; but this does Not mean that all Witches follow Wicca, or All Wiccans practice WitchCraft. WitchCraft itself is a religion. Wicca is a new religion which is very simillar to the ancient religion of Witches.
In a way both are modern. But Wicca is more modern overall - since it is a branch of witchcraft. To better explain - All Wiccans are Witches, but not all Witches are Wiccan. Paganism is the oldest religion involving witchcraft.
No. First of all, spells and mermaids are not real, so it doesn't really witchcraft. Witchcraft, at least the Western conception of it, is tied to the religion of Wicca. Most folklore relating to magic is not related to Wicca.
Yes. One of the easiest ways to do this is to belive in the voice of nature. Then, your journey begins. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ok, I seem an obvious misconception here. Wicca... is a religion. Witchcraft and spellwork are practices. Wicca is not spells, that's witchcraft.
No Wicca became popular in Britain in the 1950's, it did not start in the 1950's. Wicca or Paganism has been around for eons. Look back to ancient history, starting with Celtic tradition (just a place to start) even then Celtic beliefs will take you further back to when Wicca originated No one really knows when Wicca began, were not really suppose to, it is a simple fact of the faith. Shamanism, Paganism and Witchcraft has been around since the civilization of humans. But Wicca started as a religion in England in 1950's. There is no evidence of the existence of Wicca before that. Even Gerald Gardner does not claim so. That practice Gerald Gardner was referring to, that existed for a very long time, was Witchcraft, not Wicca. Wicca and Witchcraft are two things, not the same. Even Witchcraft was not called as Witchcraft since 1600. It is actually Shamanism. The word Witchcraft was introduced by the Vatican in 1600 to call all the Pagan beliefs, nature worship and Shamanism.
Wicca doesn't affect the world very much.
Witchcraft was prosecuted MANY times, but I don't believe Wicca has ever been.
Witchcraft is a way of life. It is a religion (or, rather, a group of religions) and magick. One form is Wicca.
It depends on what you mean by 'witchcraft'. Do you mean Neopaganism (one of the religions being Wicca)? Please specify.
Witchcraft is not linked to a religion. Not all Pagans practice witchcraft and not all witchcraft practitioners are Pagan. If you were to define nonreligious as the absence of deity then try practicing Wicca. With Wicca, there is no claim to worship a deity, but rather, nature. Also, Paganism is not a religion. It is an umbrella term defining a specific type of religion.
There is a vast majourity of Witches who follow Wicca as their religion. Because Wicca ans Witchcraft have o many things in common since Wicca started from Witchcraft itself and developed as a religion. Apart from that there are so many religions Witches could follow. Voodoo is also a religion and people who follow Voodoo practices Witchcraft. In LaVey satanism, the second degree female rank is "Witch". They also practice a form of ceremonial Witchcraft.