Do Witches outnumber Presbyterians?

Media reports over the last several months have trumpeted that witches in the U.S. now outnumber Presbyterians.

It’s great religious click-bait but the assertion, to the extent it’s based on anything, rests on a false comparison.

In 2014 Pew Research Center estimated that 0.4 percent of Americans, about 1 to 1.5 million people, identify as Wiccan or Pagan. This statistic, cited in all the media reports, is evidently the most recently available data, although it is four years old. But faddish stories can sometimes be ginned up based on old numbers.

Media reports have compared this number of supposed Wiccans/Pagans with 1.4 million Presbyterians, hence the provocative headlines. Witches and other adherents of natural religion outnumber a major Christian tradition in America.

Pew’s Wiccan estimate includes all persons who identify with Wiccan type beliefs. The Presbyterian number is based on the enrolled membership of the Presbyterian Church (USA), which is the largest Presbyterian denomination in America.

This comparison does not involve equals. A more accurate assessment would compare enrolled members of covens with the enrolled members of all Presbyterian denominations.

Of course, there is no registry of covens or other pagan groups. Wiccans don’t tend to have institutions with formal membership. They are mostly individualistic and, although claiming ties to ancient pagan beliefs, are very American and modern in their pursuit of their own mostly self-created nature-based spirituality. “Wicca” as a term dates to the mid to late 20th century.

A more accurate comparison would liken total self-identified Wiccans with total self-identified Presbyterians, not just enrolled church members. According to a 2016 Gallup Poll, two percent of Americans self-identify as Presbyterian, which would equal about 6.6 million Americans, or 5 times as many Wiccans.

The total number of enrolled members in Presbyterians denominations would include not just the 1.4 million of the Presbyterian Church (USA). There are also the Presbyterian Church in America with 375,000, the Evangelical Presbyterian Church with 145,000, the Evangelical Covenant Order of Presbyterians with 121,000, the Cumberland Presbyterian Church with 71,000, the Korean Presbyterian Church in America with 55,000, and the Orthodox Presbyterian Church with 31,000. Counting other smaller denominations there are maybe 2.1 or 2.2 total Presbyterian church members in America.

Far more people typically identify with a church tradition, based on their past, family ties or occasional involvement, than are actively formal church members. But sometimes splashy headlines are based on false comparisons between self-identification of a non-Christian movement with formal members of a Christian denomination.

For example, sometimes an estimated number of persons who identify as at least culturally Muslim are compared to a Protestant denomination’s formal membership as evidence of surging Islam in America.

As denominationalism continues to recede, and more even active Christians identify less with traditional denominations, these comparisons will become likely even more common, even though they are apples and oranges.

This particular story of witches and Presbyterians apparently began with an October 4 Quartz article headlined: “The US Witch Population Has Seen an Astronomical Rise,” mostly based on the Pew study and an even older study from Trinity College in Connecticut in 2008.

Quartz did not reference Presbyterianism. But my friend Carmen Fowler LaBerge tweeted the article with this comment:

An October 10 Christian Post article cited Carmen’s quote, accurately including the PCUSA reference. But this piece evidently sparked subsequent witch/Presbyterian comparisons in other media that omitted specific reference to PCUSA membership, instead making blanket witch/Presbyterian comparisons.

On December 17, The Daily Caller ran the headline: “Witches Now Outnumber Presbyterians In The US,” declaring: “Self-identified practitioners of witchcraft in the U.S. outnumber Presbyterian Christians, thanks in part to Millennials’ embrace of New Age spirituality.” But the story in the second paragraph did specify the comparison was between Wiccan self-identification versus PCUSA membership.

More vaguely, a November 18 Newsweek article, headlined “Number Of Witches Rises Dramatically Across U.S. As Millennials Reject Christianity,” claimed: “With 1.5 million potential practicing witches across the U.S., witchcraft has more followers than the 1.4 million mainline members of the Presbyterian church.”

Even more vaguely, Breitbart on December 22, just in time for Christmas, amplified the claim with headline: “Witchcraft Booming in America, ‘More Witches than Presbyterians.’” It read: “The number of self-declared witches in the United States now exceeds the total number of Presbyterians, the Telegraph declared Friday.”

Breitbart was referencing British newspaper The Telegraph , which on December 21, under the headline, “Witchcraft moves to the mainstream in America as Christianity declines – and has Trump in its sights,” declared:

In fact, the Pew study did not compare Wiccans with Presbyterians. The Telegraph made no reference to the PCUSA, nor did Breitbart.

With now wide international coverage, the witches/Presbyterian story escalated. Even George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley, a prominent television commentator on judicial issues who’s not typically focused on religion, blogged with the headline: “Report: Witches Now Outnumber Presbyterians in the United States.”

Turley’s news hook was President Trump’s complaints about the “witch hunt” in Washington. Other stories about the supposed surge in witchcraft noted witches had placed hexes on Trump and Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

Witch talk is fun, and spuriously claiming witches now outnumber Presbyterians was too delicious to avoid, along with hyperbolic assertions about Christianity’s implosion and paganism’s surge.

Widely circulated on social media, the witches/Presbyterians headlines were cute and, if taken seriously, alarming. But their claims were false. Self-identified Presbyterians seemingly outnumber Wiccans by about five to one.

Whatever America’s challenges and problems, witches and Wiccans, who remain very few in number, are likely not chief among them. Much more numerous Christians in America likely cause far more trouble than witches.

....:Are there Presbyterians who are closet witches?"....

As your tag points out, you might think this is satire.

Isaiah 4:1 speaks of 7 "women", that's churches in the spiritual language. These 7 churches love one man, that's Jesus. They eat their own food. That means they don't eat the Word of God but make up their own doctrines. Then they wear their own garments. That means they don't wear the garment of Righteousness given by Jesus, but they are self righteous and call evil, good, and good is evil. But they have taken the name of Jesus because they don't want to be the church of Satan.

There is a reason one of the most repeated phrases in Scripture is "the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob." When Scripture says that, it is saying the God of the Bible is not one that is made up by man. If God destroyed Sodom for sodomy, then He will do that today. If He destroyed the earth for corrupting the image of God ( Gen 6:1), He will NOT tolerate genetic engineering today. Jesus told us that it will be like the days of Noah and the days of Lot when He returns.

Scripture tells us to beware of the traditions of men. That would be "denominations".

Mar 7:7 And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.'

Col 2:8 Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ.

If your "church" believes sodomy is accepted by God, you are making up doctrine and if the church splits over it,....you need to go with the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. God never changes, ever! He doesn't care what the polls say about a subject. He doesn't say "Well, it's the 21st century."

He has made it perfectly clear what He thinks about sodomy. Witches, well that is anyone that doesn't follow God and says they are as powerful as God. Satan told Eve that they would be as gods if they ate the fruit. If as person tells you you must belong to their denomination to be saved, flee from them. I've spoken to many Catholics that no longer attend church, but won't go anywhere else because they say the RCC is the only church. Just listen to that statement. I quit church, but won't go anywhere because ( place any denomination here) is the only true church. Speak to some of these people and they will tell you something like "I've been a Presbyterian for 40 years and I'm not changing now". Do you love Jesus or your denomination? Jesus will know.

IMO, it is a prophesy about the Last Days.Anytime I read "In That Day" means in and around the Tribulation period. Women are churches or denominations in Spiritual language. A virgin is the church. A widow or divorced woman is Israel. Harlots or prostitutes speak of the Babylonian idol worshipers.

In the last days Israel will break down into worldly habits, such as abortion and homosexuality so God will punish. Is a Christian's food the Bread of Life? They refuse Scriptures so they make their own doctrine.

Christians have a garment of Righteousness given by the blood of Jesus. These churches will call evil, good; and, good, evil. "Let us be called by your name" means they want to continue to be known as Christians even though they abort children and approve of sodomites.

Now read verse 2 in Isaiah 4. "In That Day" still refers to the Last Days", but then it mentions "the Branch of the Lord" will be beautiful. There was no Christians at the time you are saying it's talking about. "Israel who have escaped" are Messianic Jews raised in the Rapture.

In my Reference Bible, I have a reference to Jeremiah 23:5 for "The Branch of the Lord. (Jesus is the vine and we are the branches). Go to Jeremiah 23:5 and see that it is a prophesy that has NOT been fulfilled as of the writing of my Bible. Vs 6 says that Judah will be saved. That too speaks of the end times. This person that will be raised to David and is called "The Lord of Righteousness" references 1Cor 1:30.

Isaiah and Jeremiah both were prophets and spoke mostly on things that hadn't happened yet.

There is a saying I like that says "The Old Testament is the New Testament revealed; and the New Testament is the Old Testament concealed."

When reading the OT, you need to think outside the box a little.First you need to learn the Spiritual language. A Tree is a man, an olive tree is an anointed man, unnamed women are churches and denominations, Water is words, Bread is Jesus, Swords are the Word of God, Demons are birds, beasts of the field, wolves, and even Chaldean's are demons after about 500 BC when they were physically destroyed completely. Dogs are lost people. Numbers and colors mean things. There are literally hundreds of Spiritual words used in both the OT and The NT. I teach a whole course on this before I even teach the Leviticus Feast Days and books of the Bible. You cannot read the Bible correctly unless you are familiar with this.

Christians are woefully short on this information and no one even tries to teach it.

Just as an example. Mark 8:22-25 is the best example of this. Jesus heals a blind man and He asks him what he sees. He replied that he saw "men like trees walking". Then Jesus touched him again and he had natural sight. What was Jesus telling us here? He was saying I would rather this man see with spiritual eyes that his natural sight. Some preacher will preach, "See, Even Jesus couldn't heal everyone the first time". Everywhere in Scripture, it will define itself. Zech 4:11 asked what the two olive trees were and The Angel of the Lord( a theophany of Jesus), told him they were the two witnesses and that verse refers to Revelation 11:4.( pretty neat,...4:11 and 11:4) The verse numbers were added later but it just happened to be one in the OT and the reverse in the NT. You cannot read the parables without this knowledge of the Spiritual language. Jesus told the parable of the sower and then explained it to his Apostles. He actually said the birds were demons that took away the seed. Genesis 3:1 says that Satan was the most cunning of all the beasts of the field. Does that mean he was smarter than the average goat or monkey? No, he was the head of the demonic realm. Go to the verses on the Temptation of Christ in the wilderness in Mark 1:13. Why were wild beasts mentioned there with Satan? Were their a bunch of lions and snakes there with the devil? This is important to know to be able to read Ezekiel 31 and Ezekiel34.In 31, it speaks of a great tree that was very large. That is a church, but it is a man made religion referred to as a tree. Remember we are boughs and branches. birds live in the branches. Beasts of the field live in the shadow of this tree IN ALL GREAT NATIONS! What church is so large that it is in every nation? That world wide church has demons living in it's people and demons being given shade by the tree.

In Eze 34 we see the story of the Antichrist as the bad shepherd. Who is the Good Shepherd? It's a whole lesson for this chapter but lets just say they weren't doing the 5 fold ministry so the sheep scattered and they became food for the beasts of the field. If sheep are Christians, then are they eaten by beasts or demons?

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