Prevalence and Importance of Contemporary Pagan Practices
Issue: Vol 16 No. 1 (2014)
Journal: Pomegranate: The International Journal of Pagan Studies
Subject Areas: Religious Studies
Abstract:
Using quantitative methods to analyze a national survey conducted by the author, this study investigates the prevalence and relative importance of categories of religious practice to a large sample (N=3318), of American contemporary Pagans. Results indicate that almost all Pagans identify as following multiple religious paths. A core constellation of ubiquitous religious practices was identified (individual ritual; seasonal rituals; meditation; making offerings; worshiping deity/ies; environmental or green practices as a part of religious practice; performing magick or spells on behalf of the self; healing work; divination; prayer; herbalism; and performing magick or spells on behalf of the greater good). Also identified was a subset of practices that are not as common but have high levels of significance for those who do them, suggesting possible specialization. There was minimal significant variation of prevalence and importance of practices by Pagan tradition, but there was some variation based on group membership and leadership status. The results indicate a high level of importance placed on personal practice, whether or not an individual belongs to a group or is solitary.
Author: Gwendolyn Reece
References :
Adler, Margot. Drawing Down the Moon: Witches, Druids, Goddess Worshipers, and Other Pagans in America Today, revised and expanded edition. New York: Penguin Books, 1997.
Atkinson, Rowland, and John Flint. “Sampling, Snowball: Accessing Hidden and Hard-to-Reach Populations.” In The A-Z of Social Research, edited by Robert L. Miller and John D. Brewer, 274–81. London: SAGE Publications, 2003.
Bado-Fralick, Nikki. Coming to the Edge of the Circle: A Wiccan Initiatory Ritual. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/0195166450.001.0001.
Barner-Barry, Carol. Contemporary Paganism: Minority Religions in a Majoritarian America. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2005. http://dx.doi.org/10.1057/9781403973382.
Berger, Helen A. “Are Solitaries the Future of Paganism?” Patheos, August 23, 2010. Accessed January 21, 2014, http://www.patheos.com/Resources/Additional-Resources/Solitaries-The-Future-Of-Paganism.html.
——. A Community of Witches: Contemporary Neo-Paganism and Witchcraft in the United States. Columbia, S.C.: University of South Carolina Press, 1999.
——. “Solitary Practitioners in the United States.” Paper presented at the annual meeting of The American Academy of Religion, Baltimore, November 26, 2013.
——. “Witchcraft and NeoPaganism.” In Witchcraft and Magic: Contemporary North America, edited by Helen A. Berger, 28–54. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2005. http://dx.doi.org/10.9783/9780812201253.
Berger, Helen A., Evan A. Leach and Leigh S. Shaffer. Voices from the Pagan Census: A National Survey of Witches and Neo-Pagans in the United States. Columbia, S.C.: University of South Carolina Press, 2003.
Carpenter, Dennis D. “Emergent Nature Spirituality: An Examination of the Major Spiritual Contours of the Contemporary Pagan Worldview.” In Magical Religion and Modern Witchcraft, edited by James R. Lewis, 35–71. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, 1996.
Clifton, Chas S. Her Hidden Children: The Rise of Wicca and Paganism in America. Lanham, Md.: AltaMira Press, 2006.
Lave, Jean, and Etienne Wenger. Situated Learning: Legitimate Peripheral Participation. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1991. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511815355.
Lewis, James R. Witchcraft Today: An Encyclopedia of Wiccan and NeoPagan Traditions. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-Clio, 1999.
Magliocco, Sabina. “Ritual is my Chosen Art Form: The Creation of Ritual as Folk Art among Contemporary Pagans.” In Magical Religion and Modern Witchcraft, edited by James R. Lewis, 93–119. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, 1996.
——. Witching Culture: Folklore and Neo-Paganism in America. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2004. http://dx.doi.org/10.9783/9780812202700.
Pike, Sarah M. New Age and Neopagan Religions in America. New York: Columbia University Press, 2004.
Rabinovitch, Shelley TSivia. “Spells of Transformation: Categorizing Modern Neo-Pagan Witches.” In Magical Religion and Modern Witchcraft, edited by James R. Lewis, 75–91. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, 1996.
“Table 75: Self-Described Religious Identification of Adult Population: 1990, 2001, and 2008.” In Statistical Abstracts of the United States. Accessed January 21, 2014, http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2012/tables/12s0075.pdf.
Wenger, Etienne. Communities of Practice: Learning, Meaning, and Identity. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1998. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511803932
Zohreh, Kermani S. Pagan Family Values: Childhood and Religious Imagination in Contemporary American Paganism. New York: New York University Press, 2013.