Modern paganism in the United Kingdom

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Druids' ritual at Stonehenge.
handfasting ceremony at Avebury in England
.

The

Demographics

A study conducted by Ronald Hutton 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 Pagan gathering. Hutton estimated that there are 250,000 Pagan adherents in the United Kingdom, roughly equivalent to the national Hindu community back in 2001 when it was much smaller than it is today (there are presently over a million Hindus in the United Kingdom).[3]

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 for National Statistics, but were released after an application filed by the Pagan Federation (Scottish branch).[4] With a population of around 59 million, this gives a rough proportion of 7 Pagans per 10,000 inhabitants of the United Kingdom.

The 2001 UK Census figures did 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. The

2011 census however made it possible to describe oneself as Pagan-Wiccan, Pagan-Druid and so on. The figures for England, Wales and Scotland are as follows:[5][6]

Description England Wales Scotland
Pagan 53,172 3,448 3,467
Wicca 11,026 740 949
Druid 3,946 243 245
Pantheism 2,105 111 135
Heathen 1,867 91 150
Witchcraft 1,193 83 81
Shamanism 612 38 92
Animism 487 54 44
Reconstructionist 223 28 31
Total 74,631 4,836 5,194

The overall numbers of people reporting Pagan or one of the other categories in the table above rose between 2001 and 2011. In 2001 about seven people per 10,000 UK respondents identified as pagan; in 2011 the number (based on the England and Wales population) was 14.3 people per 10,000 respondents.

Research conducted by Dr Leo Ruickbie suggested that the south-east of England had the highest concentration of Pagans in the country.[7]

Religions

Modern Paganism in the UK is dominated by Wicca, the modern movement of Druidry, and forms of Heathenry.

Wicca

Wicca was developed in England in the first half of the 20th century.

Moon Goddess. Although it had various terms in the past, from the 1960s onward the name of the religion was normalised to Wicca.[9]

Heathenry

Heathenry consists of a variety of modern movements attempting to revive Germanic paganism, such as that practiced in the British Isles by the Anglo-Saxon and Scandinavian peoples prior to Christianisation. Asatru UK was founded in 2013 and operates as a country-wide group for all inclusive Heathens.[10][11]

Druidism

During the

Gerald Gardner. More overtly Pagan Druid groups began to develop in the UK from the late 1970s onwards. These include the British Druid Order, The Druid Network and numerous other smaller groups.[12]

Organisations

Stonehenge is an important part of certain modern neo-druidic practices.[13]

Modern Pagan organisations in Great Britain:

See also

Notes

Footnotes

  1. ^ Office for National Statistics, 11 December 2012, 2011 Census, Key Statistics for Local Authorities in England and Wales. Accessed 12 December 2012.
  2. ^ Office for National Statistics, 11 December 2012, 2011 Census, Scotland's Census 2011 - National Records of Scotland, Religion (detailed) All people, Accessed 20 March 2015.
  3. ^ Hutton (2001)
  4. ^ Pagan Federation, Scotland (25 March 2004). "The Pagan Federation in Scotland - Census Results". Archived from the original on 13 January 2010. Retrieved 4 April 2010.
  5. ^ Office for National Statistics, 11 December 2012, 2011 Census, Key Statistics for Local Authorities in England and Wales. Accessed 12 December 2012.
  6. ^ Office for National Statistics, 11 December 2012, 2011 Census, Scotland's Census 2011 - National Records of Scotland, Religion (detailed) All people, Accessed 20 March 2015.
  7. .
  8. .
  9. ^ Seims, Melissa (2008). "Wica or Wicca? - Politics and the Power of Words". The Cauldron (129).
  10. ^ "Home | Welcome to the website of Asatru UK". Asatru UK. Retrieved 2021-05-16.
  11. ^ "Asatru UK". Facebook. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
  12. ^ Professor Ronald Hutton, The Druids, Hambeldon Continuum, 2007; Blood & Mistletoe: The History of The Druids in Britain, Yale University Press, 2009.
  13. ^ Khouri, Andrew (2010-06-21). "Thousands celebrate solstice". NBC News. Retrieved 2010-10-03.

References

  • Hutton, Ronald (2001). The Triumph of the Moon: A History of Modern Pagan Witchcraft. .