Neo-Paganism

Neo-paganisn has undergone an extensive revivial since the middle of the 20th century. As the role of the Christian church in the west has come under repeated intellectual attack and questioning, many people have looked towards pre-Christian folk roots for alternative expressions of spirituality.

One of the biggest areas is Wicca, which is essentially a reinvention – instituted and popularised by Gerald Gardner – of the practice of witchcraft. It is from Gardner that all major Wiccan traditions are originally derivative.

Gardner himself has been variously criticised, not least for highly romanticising the tradition away from its actual traditional roots. Regardless, Wicca itself continues to grow in popularity, especially in Europe and the USA, as an alternative route of worship of the Divine from mainstream Christianity.