Neopaganism in the United Kingdom
Encyclopedia
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, which includes a variety of paths and traditions such as Neo-Druidism
Neo-Druidism
Neo-Druidism or Neo-Druidry, commonly referred to as Druidism or Druidry by its adherents, is a form of modern spirituality or religion that generally promotes harmony and worship of nature, and respect for all beings, including the environment...
, Germanic Neopaganism
Germanic Neopaganism
Germanic neopaganism is the contemporary revival of historical Germanic paganism. Precursor movements appeared in the early 20th century in Germany and Austria. A second wave of revival began in the early 1970s...
, and Wicca
Wicca
Wicca , is a modern Pagan religious movement. Developing in England in the first half of the 20th century, Wicca was popularised in the 1950s and early 1960s by a Wiccan High Priest named Gerald Gardner, who at the time called it the "witch cult" and "witchcraft," and its adherents "the Wica."...
, accounting for roughly a quarter of Neo-pagans worldwide. According to the 2001 April UK Census
United Kingdom Census 2001
A nationwide census, known as Census 2001, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday, 29 April 2001. This was the 20th UK Census and recorded a resident population of 58,789,194....
, there is an estimated 32,000 Pagans, and 7,000 Wiccans in Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
and England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
Demographics
A study conducted by Ronald HuttonRonald Hutton
Ronald Hutton is an English historian who specializes in the study of Early Modern Britain, British folklore, pre-Christian religion and contemporary Paganism. A reader in the subject at the University of Bristol, Hutton has published fourteen books and has appeared on British television and radio...
compared a number of different sources (including membership lists of major organisations within the United Kingdom, major events attendance, subscriptions to magazines, etc.), and used standard models for calculating likely numbers of Pagans within the United Kingdom. This estimate accounted for multiple membership overlaps as well as the number of adherents represented by each attendee of a Neo-pagan gathering. Hutton estimated that there are 250,000 Neo-pagan adherents in the United Kingdom, roughly equivalent to the national Hindu community
Hinduism in the United Kingdom
Hinduism was the religion of 558,342 people in the United Kingdom according to the 2001 census but an estimate in a British newspaper in 2007 has put the figure as high as 1.5 Million....
.
A smaller number is suggested by the results of the 2001 Census, in which a question about religious affiliation was asked for the first time. Respondents were able to write in an affiliation not covered by the check-list of common religions, and a total of 42,262 people from England, Scotland, and Wales declared themselves to be Pagans by this method (or 23% of the 179,000 adherents of "other religions" in the results). These figures were not released as a matter of course by the Office of National Statistics, but were released after an application filed by the Pagan Federation
Pagan Federation
The Pagan Federation is a UK-based voluntary organisation, formed in 1971, which campaigns for the religious rights of Neo-pagans and educates both civic bodies and the general public about Paganism. It is active throughout Europe and organises a large number of Pagan events. The organisation...
(Scottish branch). With a population of around 59 million, this gives a rough proportion of 7 Pagans per 10,000 inhabitants of the United Kingdom, fewer than the so-called Jedi religion
Jedi census phenomenon
The Jedi census phenomenon is a grassroots movement that was initiated in 2001 for residents of a number of English-speaking countries, urging them to record their religion as "Jedi" or "Jedi Knight" on the national census.It is believed the majority of self-reported Jedi claimed the religion for...
, whose campaign made them the largest of the religions after the Big Six.
The UK Census figures do not allow an accurate breakdown of traditions within the Pagan heading, as a campaign by the Pagan Federation before the census encouraged Wiccans, Heathens, Druids and others all to use the same write-in term 'Pagan' in order to maximise the numbers reported.
Research conducted by Dr Leo Ruickbie
Leo Ruickbie
Leo Ruickbie is an historian and sociologist of magic, witchcraft and Wicca. He is the author of several books, beginning with Witchcraft Out of the Shadows, a 2004 publication outlining the history of witchcraft from ancient Greece until the modern day. Ruickbie was born in Scotland and took a...
suggested that the south-east of England had the highest concentration of Neo-pagans in the country.
Organisations
- Pagan FederationPagan FederationThe Pagan Federation is a UK-based voluntary organisation, formed in 1971, which campaigns for the religious rights of Neo-pagans and educates both civic bodies and the general public about Paganism. It is active throughout Europe and organises a large number of Pagan events. The organisation...
(since 1971) - Pagan DawnPagan DawnPagan Dawn is the magazine of the Pagan Federation, and is the second largest selling Pagan magazine in the UK.Articles cover all aspects of paganism, from general paganism to wicca, shamanism and druidry...
- Quest ConferenceQuest ConferenceThe Quest Conference is an annual Conference for pagans/neo-pagans, held in March in Bristol. The conference is organised by Marian Green, notable author and teacher of pagan, witchcraft, and magical works. There are a variety of speakers every year, as well as stalls, workshops, etc.Information...
- Odinic RiteOdinic RiteThe Odinic Rite is a religious organization, practicing a form of Northern Indo European religion termed Odinism after the chief god of Norse mythology, Odin...
(since 1973) - Unitarian Earth Spirit NetworkUnitarian Earth Spirit NetworkThe Unitarian Earth Spirit Network was founded in 1990 by Rev Peter Roberts, assisted by Jo Rogers as Sec/Treasurer. Roberts felt that the British Unitarian movement had two main streams of belief adequately represented, but that another mode of thought that was not formally represented, a Nature...
(since 1990) - Neo-druidism in Britain
- Ancient Order of DruidsAncient Order of DruidsThe Ancient Order of Druids is a fraternal organization founded in London, England in 1781 that still operates to this day. It is the earliest known English group to be founded based upon the iconography of the ancient druids, who were priest-like figures in Iron Age Celtic paganism...
- Order of Bards, Ovates and DruidsOrder of Bards, Ovates and DruidsThe Order of Bards, Ovates & Druids or OBOD is a Neo-Druidic organisation based in England, but based in part on the Welsh Gorsedd of Bards...
- Secular Order of DruidsSecular Order of DruidsThe Secular Order of Druids or SODs emerged after the violent clashes between police and public surrounding the Stonehenge Free Festival in June 1984/85...
- The Druid NetworkThe Druid Network-External links:***, New Statesman, 2006-11-06* in The Independent...
- The Druid OrderThe Druid Orderthumb|upright|alt=Druids at Tower Hill|Druids at Tower HillThe Druid Order is a neo-druidic group in the United Kingdom. It is also called An Druidh Uileach Braithreachas or, in English, The Druid Circle of the Universal Bond. Members are called companions....
- Ancient Order of Druids
See also
- British Traditional WiccaBritish Traditional WiccaBritish Traditional Wicca is a term used to describe some Wiccan traditions which have their origins in the New Forest region of England...
- Neopaganism in the United StatesNeopaganism in the United StatesNeopaganism in the United States is represented by widely different movements and organizations. The largest Neopagan religion is Wicca, followed by Neodruidism. Both of these religions were introduced during the 1950s from Great Britain. Germanic Neopaganism and Kemetism appeared in the US in...
- New Age travellersNew age travellersNew Age Travellers are groups of people who often espouse New Age or hippie beliefs and travel between music festivals and fairs in order to live in a community with others who hold similar beliefs. Their transport and homes consist of vans, lorries, buses, narrowboats and caravans converted into...
- Religion in the United KingdomReligion in the United KingdomReligion in the United Kingdom and the states that pre-dated the UK, was dominated by forms of Christianity for over 1,400 years. Although a majority of citizens still identify with Christianity in many surveys, regular church attendance has fallen dramatically since the middle of the 20th century,...