Posted on 10/11/2018 8:00:57 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
The population of self-identified witches has risen dramatically in the United States in recent decades, as interest in astrology and witchcraft practices have become increasingly mainstreamed.
While data is sparse, Quartz noted, the practice of witchcraft has grown significantly in recent decades; those who identify as witches has risen concurrently with the rise of 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."
Pew Research Center studied the issue in 2014, discovering 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 rapid rise is not a surprise to some given philosophical and spiritual trends in culture.
"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.'"
Yet such repackaging is deceptive, Roys added, "but one that a generation with little or no biblical understanding is prone to accept."
"It's tragic, and a reminder of how badly we need spiritual revival in this country, and also that 'our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the powers of this dark world,'" she said, referencing Ephesians 6, which explains spiritual warfare.
Similarly, 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.
Portrayals of occultism as either fun or morally neutral have been appearing more in culture in recent years and in light of growing interest. Companies like cosmetics giant Sephora have attempted to capitalize on it, marketing a "Starter Witch Kit" to consumers interested in dabbling in witchcraft. However, the company angered a number of actual witches and was ultimately forced to apologize and pull the product.
In October 2017, Market Watch reported that the psychic services industry grew 2 percent between the years 2011 and 2016, an industry now worth approximately $2 billion. Also within the last several years, according to Pew, the percentage of people ages 18–29 who "never doubt the existence of God" dropped from 81 percent in 2007 to 67 percent in 2012.
"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.
Perhaps most infamously, months after the presidential inauguration a May 2017 editorial in the Los Angeles Times written by novelist Diana Wagman openly spoke of putting a curse on the president and encouraged others to cast similar spells in order to #BindTrump.
What Liberalism has done to Christianity.
Misleading headline. Based on these numbers said witches only outnumber a single denomination of Presbyterians (the very liberal unChristian one at that) and one that has been losing members in masses for years and currently overstates it's membership dramatically.
Companies like cosmetics giant Sephora have attempted to capitalize on it, marketing a “Starter Witch Kit” to consumers interested in dabbling in witchcraft. However, the company angered a number of actual witches and was ultimately forced to apologize and pull the product.
I seen them with pink hats and their cuck’s in tow on TV.
If you don’t beleive in Christ, you’ll believe anything.
No reason to doubt the statistics, look around at the state of society.
Small wonder these look like Romans 1:18-32 times.
Cling to the Lord YHVH and His Christ. Don’t compromise with the world.
Do not turn aside from the Lord even because your child or your friend gets caught up in sin and you are tempted to think, and they may even demand your acceptance of their sin, that they wouldn’t be doing grevious things so the things that they are doing must not be that bad.
Be one of the few that has never proverbially bowed to the Baals or kissed them. If you have, repent while there is time: after listing off those who can not enter the kingdom Paul immediately turned around thanking God that such were some of you.
Yes, those who die in the “such are you still category” (as opposed to “such were you”) perish in judgment, that’s on them, but do not go with them. Do not go with those who go with them for their approval and fellowship.
Cling to the Lord.
He’d never use anti-cling sheets in His laundry.
What is truly sad is that (I would surmise) the vast majority of these practitioners think it’s just a ‘thing’ they’re doing, never realizing that they are dancing with Satan himself.
(similarly) If you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything.
“And if thou gaze long into an abyss, the abyss will also gaze into thee.”
Time for some waterboarding. LOL
When this country legalized the slaughter of babies there was only one direction for it to head....straight down.
One thing to know and understand here, there are, to my knowledge, few if any requirements or strictures leveled upon those who want to ‘practice’ paganism. From what I understand, it is mostly ‘do your own thing’ and if there is a morality to it, it appears to be a generic ‘do no harm to others’.
Even the most dim Christian knows that there are expectation involved in the Christian Belief. There is a strong morality embodied in faithful practice, there is a strong encouragement to be charitable in both actions and finances. There is a certainty that there will be a judgement upon your actions in the after-life. [For my Jewish Brethren, I believe that they follow most of the same morality. As for their ends, GOD decides that, it is above my pay-grade (grin)!]
To believe in Christ, Crucified and Resurrected and that GOD sent him to Earth for that purpose, is to force yourself into believing that which is beyond proof. Paganism is easy and as such it does little that is not already innate within the person. Christianity has the historically proven ability to redirect the most lost soul.
This is my FAITH and BELIEF, I can choose no other!
I am waiting for the moment when Wiccan and Pagan meet Islam.
There was once an admonitions in the Old Testament, “Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live” (Exodus 22:18). It may still be operative for the Muslims, but of course, they are bent of murdering all who hold even the least of variance with their “One True Path”.
But by general acceptance of a veneer of civility, MOST Judeo-Christian practitioners of the Abrahamic religions have pretty much given up the enforcement of this provision.
It is brutal, and probably, somewhere buried in other revelations contained in the writings of later prophets and theologians, mostly dead letter, as this provision differs sharply from the commandment “Thou shalt not kill”, and the later interpretation of the Golden Rule, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”
All cultures are equal!
Elaborate witchcraft displays are going up for Halloween in our area.
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