The pagan boom – why young people are turning to non-traditional religions
http://www.dazeddigital.com/life-culture...witchcraft
EXCERPT: Census trends tell us the UK is an increasingly secular place, with atheists now outnumbering Christians in England and Wales. Organised religion is also in decline across the pond in the US. In both cases, data reveal that young people are responsible for this trend. Statistics show that millennials are increasingly likely to [leave] the monotheism (a belief in one, often male god) they were socialised into as children for more self-determined, spiritual paths during their teens and early twenties.
Dovetailing with this decline is compelling evidence suggesting that, while monotheism declines, an increasing number of young people – ex-faith and otherwise – are identifying as pagan. “Many young people are leaving organised religion for similar reasons to myself,” says Eileen Nash, 20, an ex-Catholic turned Wiccan. “They’re tired of the shame, they want to ask (theological) questions and they don’t want to be a part of an organisation that promotes discrimination of any kind.”
This chimes with Jonathan Wooley, 30, an ex-Anglican turned Druid. “As a queer man, I felt like I constantly had to apologise for my sexuality, and beg for forgiveness for something I didn’t choose. Meeting an increasing number of Christians at university – many of whom were bigoted, intolerant and closed minded, performing boring and aesthetically impoverished rituals – convinced me that this was not a spiritual community I wanted anything to do with. So I stopped going to church.”
Pagan – or neopagan – is an umbrella term for an array of practises, paths and traditions, including (but not limited to) Druidry, Heathenry, Hellenism, Wicca and witchcraft (note: not all witches identify as pagan, just as not all pagans are witches).
While monotheistic world faiths worship a sole, male, father-figure god, pagan paths are often polytheistic (revering multiple deities of various genders) and matrifocal, priviliging the divine feminine. Witchcraft, or “liberation spirituality” as Instagram’s Erin Aquarian terms it, is particularly appealing to young, woke, LGBTQ and women of colour, people who identify with the witch as a liberating outsider force, so its little surprise the Craft is enjoying a renaissance among feminists and activists, as the Guardian reported last year. Pagan traditions are also often nature-based, revering the natural world through ritual and worship...
[...] For many, modern paganism represents a personal and collective process of decolonisation, and a desire for spiritual autonomy. Where monotheism relies almost universally on dogma, hierarchy and doctrine, paganism offers inclusivity and self-direction, where connection to the divine or higher self isn’t mediated through bible-wielding priests or the dark of the confessional booth. “Paganism and witchcraft is about freedom,” says Vicky Black, 28. “It puts the (spiritual) power back in your hands.” Vicky was raised Catholic, but now identifies as a witch. “There are a multitude of reasons why I left the fold, but to sum it up: it just never felt right. I spent years questioning my faith. I wasn’t allowed to choose, I wasn’t allowed to question, I wasn’t allowed to doubt. I just had to believe.”
[...] For many ex-faith pagans, a fallow period marks their break from the fold. Eileen identified as agnostic for long time after leaving Catholicism, a period that left her feeling isolated and rudderless. “I struggled a lot with the idea that nothing had meaning. I felt very alone, which wasn’t much better than the shame and frustration I felt as a Catholic.” For Eileen, Wicca is about free will over blind faith, about following her gut rather than received wisdom. “I feel like Wicca opens my eyes to so many beautiful things in my everyday life. There’s no shame – only peace, understanding, appreciation...
[...] Monitoring the growth of pagan populations in the UK is a tricky business...
MORE (details): http://www.dazeddigital.com/life-culture...witchcraft
School cancels Darwin play after Christian parents complain (UK)
https://www.premier.org.uk/News/UK/Schoo...s-complain
EXCERPTS: The play, a musical called "Darwin Rocks" looks at the scientist's life and his theory of evolution. A group of Christian parents said they would not allow their children to see the play as they felt one of the scenes mocked the views of the clergyman Samuel Wilberforce, a bishop who argued against Darwin and his theory of evolution. The play is aimed at 7- to 11-year-olds. Hartford Manor Primary School, a non-religious community school in a village in Cheshire, decided to cancel the musical and replace it with a less divisive show following the objections. That decision has provoked anger among another group of parents who argue that it is "unacceptable" that their children have been denied a valuable learning opportunity....
ALSO: . . . Six parents expressed concerns over lyrics “that refer to bump and grind” – which could be seen as sexually suggestive, the BBC reported. [...] a few parents also believed a bishop in the play was “mocked” in a scene. “There were concerns about caricature,” [Simon] Kidwell said. He added that some parents felt the play’s “representation of Christian views on science wasn’t accurate.”
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http://www.dazeddigital.com/life-culture...witchcraft
EXCERPT: Census trends tell us the UK is an increasingly secular place, with atheists now outnumbering Christians in England and Wales. Organised religion is also in decline across the pond in the US. In both cases, data reveal that young people are responsible for this trend. Statistics show that millennials are increasingly likely to [leave] the monotheism (a belief in one, often male god) they were socialised into as children for more self-determined, spiritual paths during their teens and early twenties.
Dovetailing with this decline is compelling evidence suggesting that, while monotheism declines, an increasing number of young people – ex-faith and otherwise – are identifying as pagan. “Many young people are leaving organised religion for similar reasons to myself,” says Eileen Nash, 20, an ex-Catholic turned Wiccan. “They’re tired of the shame, they want to ask (theological) questions and they don’t want to be a part of an organisation that promotes discrimination of any kind.”
This chimes with Jonathan Wooley, 30, an ex-Anglican turned Druid. “As a queer man, I felt like I constantly had to apologise for my sexuality, and beg for forgiveness for something I didn’t choose. Meeting an increasing number of Christians at university – many of whom were bigoted, intolerant and closed minded, performing boring and aesthetically impoverished rituals – convinced me that this was not a spiritual community I wanted anything to do with. So I stopped going to church.”
Pagan – or neopagan – is an umbrella term for an array of practises, paths and traditions, including (but not limited to) Druidry, Heathenry, Hellenism, Wicca and witchcraft (note: not all witches identify as pagan, just as not all pagans are witches).
While monotheistic world faiths worship a sole, male, father-figure god, pagan paths are often polytheistic (revering multiple deities of various genders) and matrifocal, priviliging the divine feminine. Witchcraft, or “liberation spirituality” as Instagram’s Erin Aquarian terms it, is particularly appealing to young, woke, LGBTQ and women of colour, people who identify with the witch as a liberating outsider force, so its little surprise the Craft is enjoying a renaissance among feminists and activists, as the Guardian reported last year. Pagan traditions are also often nature-based, revering the natural world through ritual and worship...
[...] For many, modern paganism represents a personal and collective process of decolonisation, and a desire for spiritual autonomy. Where monotheism relies almost universally on dogma, hierarchy and doctrine, paganism offers inclusivity and self-direction, where connection to the divine or higher self isn’t mediated through bible-wielding priests or the dark of the confessional booth. “Paganism and witchcraft is about freedom,” says Vicky Black, 28. “It puts the (spiritual) power back in your hands.” Vicky was raised Catholic, but now identifies as a witch. “There are a multitude of reasons why I left the fold, but to sum it up: it just never felt right. I spent years questioning my faith. I wasn’t allowed to choose, I wasn’t allowed to question, I wasn’t allowed to doubt. I just had to believe.”
[...] For many ex-faith pagans, a fallow period marks their break from the fold. Eileen identified as agnostic for long time after leaving Catholicism, a period that left her feeling isolated and rudderless. “I struggled a lot with the idea that nothing had meaning. I felt very alone, which wasn’t much better than the shame and frustration I felt as a Catholic.” For Eileen, Wicca is about free will over blind faith, about following her gut rather than received wisdom. “I feel like Wicca opens my eyes to so many beautiful things in my everyday life. There’s no shame – only peace, understanding, appreciation...
[...] Monitoring the growth of pagan populations in the UK is a tricky business...
MORE (details): http://www.dazeddigital.com/life-culture...witchcraft
School cancels Darwin play after Christian parents complain (UK)
https://www.premier.org.uk/News/UK/Schoo...s-complain
EXCERPTS: The play, a musical called "Darwin Rocks" looks at the scientist's life and his theory of evolution. A group of Christian parents said they would not allow their children to see the play as they felt one of the scenes mocked the views of the clergyman Samuel Wilberforce, a bishop who argued against Darwin and his theory of evolution. The play is aimed at 7- to 11-year-olds. Hartford Manor Primary School, a non-religious community school in a village in Cheshire, decided to cancel the musical and replace it with a less divisive show following the objections. That decision has provoked anger among another group of parents who argue that it is "unacceptable" that their children have been denied a valuable learning opportunity....
ALSO: . . . Six parents expressed concerns over lyrics “that refer to bump and grind” – which could be seen as sexually suggestive, the BBC reported. [...] a few parents also believed a bishop in the play was “mocked” in a scene. “There were concerns about caricature,” [Simon] Kidwell said. He added that some parents felt the play’s “representation of Christian views on science wasn’t accurate.”
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