The time has come where in America Witches, Wiccans, and Paganism outnumber certain denominations of Christianity, namely Presbyterian.
The population of self-identified Witches has grown drastically over the last several years, in fact, according to the numbers, there are over 1.5 million across the United States. Further, there are only 1.4 million Presbyterians in the US.
Even though the data is sparse, it is evident that the rise of those who partake in witchcraft is partially because of the increase in the “witch aesthetic.”
“While the U.S. government doesn’t regularly collect detailed religious data, because of concerns that it may violate the separation of church and state, several organizations have tried to fill the data gap,” Quartz reported.
“From 1990 to 2008, Trinity College in Connecticut ran three large, detailed religion surveys. Those have shown that Wicca grew tremendously over this period. From an estimated 8,000 Wiccans in 1990, they found there were about 340,000 practitioners in 2008. They also estimated there were around 340,000 Pagans in 2008.”
After 2008, the Pew Research Center studied the issue in 2014 and discovered that 0.4 percent of Americans, approximately 1 to 1.5 million people, identify as Wicca or Pagan, meaning their communities continue to experience significant growth.
The rise in such is notably because of two reasons; one, the rejection of Christianity, and two because Wiccans have successfully repackaged witchcraft into a ‘free thought,’ ‘understanding of earth and nature’ movement.
“It makes sense that witchcraft and the occult would rise as society becomes increasingly postmodern. The rejection of Christianity has left a void that people, as inherently spiritual beings, will seek to fill,” said author Julie Roys, formerly of Moody Radio, in comments emailed to The Christian Post Tuesday.
“Plus, Wicca has effectively repackaged witchcraft for millennial consumption. No longer is witchcraft and paganism satanic and demonic,” she said, “it’s a ‘pre-Christian tradition’ that promotes ‘free thought’ and ‘understanding of earth and nature.'”
Furthermore, in recent years the media has portrayed the practice of witchcraft as ‘fun’ and morally neutral, meaning that to the unknowing and spiritually curious mind it appears appealing.
Radio host and author Carmen LaBerge noted on Twitter that the figures are striking in that witches outnumber certain Christian denominations.
“As mainline Protestantism continues its devolution, the U.S. witch population is rising astronomically. There may now be more Americans who identify as practicing witches, 1.5 mil, than there are members of mainline Presbyterianism (PCUSA) 1.4 mil,” she said Tuesday.
However, while culture and society have played their role in the growth of witchcraft in recent years, the Church is partially to blame for its inaction.
“Rather than deeming everything that is supernatural ‘demonic,’ the Church needs to wake up to the reality of this realm and begin to approach it from a Kingdom perspective which understands its place and purpose,” said Wanda Alger, field correspondent with Intercessors for America and a pastor at Crossroads Community Church in Winchester, Virginia, in a CP interview at the time.
“The sad thing is that these millennials who are exploring the dark side of the supernatural have more faith and belief than most Christians. Because they are open and spiritually hungry, the spirit realm responds. The biggest hindrance to understanding the realities of the Spirit realm is unbelief,” she emphasized.