Teen Witches
The real teenage witches
It is not clear why Paganism is so popular among young people in the UK while the Christian Church struggles to raise the numbers of teenagers in the pews. But the youth-friendly image of Paganism may have something to do with it. There certainly aren't too many cool teenage Christians on TV.
A group of teenage Pagans in Oxfordshire. From left to right: Julia, Candice, Paul, Emily, Sabrina, Catherine ©
It's cool to be a Witch
Since the 1960s young people have become interested in magic and the spiritual world through popular books, television series and films.
Bewitched (1964-1972) showed one of the first representations of a Witch on television. Samantha was a quirky housewife with magical powers who was desperately trying to conform to the 1960s ideal and stop her 'witchiness' leaking out.
The 1980s and 1990s saw a huge rise in the popularity of magic and Witchcraft as it began to flood the mainstream media. Witchcraft became much more acceptable and the characters portrayed were much stronger and more open about their practices.
A US television drama, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, has probably been the most influential media representation of Witchcraft. One of the main characters, Willow, is an alternative to the sugary 'Barbie' - type role model. She is a Witch who dabbles in lesbianism, dresses in sexy clothes and casts spells.
Hollywood also picked up on the trend for the magical with films like The Witches of Eastwick (1987), The Craft (1996) and Practical Magic (1998).
What Paganism means to them
Learning more
Although the mass media shows Witchcraft as glamorous and exciting, teenagers who are serious about learning more use library books and the internet to research the subject.
Books like Kate West's The Real Witch's Handbook: A complete introduction to the Craft for both young and old alike (Thorsons 2001) are a good starting point for real beginners who then go on to read the basic texts of Wicca and Paganism. This even includes a draft letter that a young person can send to his/her parents explaining why s/he has become Wiccan and what it is about.
They learn that Wicca involves more that just the practice of magic. It is a religion that involves the worship of the Goddess and God and the veneration of the Divine in nature.
Emily's life and religion
Emily ©
Why Paganism?
The attraction of Paganism is not only in the idea of casting love spells. The popularity of Paganism can also be attributed to the fact that it tackles issues that teenagers are interested in - in a way that other religions do not.
The supernatural is a good example of this. Massimo Introvigne (lecturer at Harvard University) suggests that programmes such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer illustrate the problems that organised religions are suffering from. He says that Buffy is telling us that "Supernatural beings may be out there, but traditional theology is not regarded as useful for dealing with them".
Paganism also places issues such as the environment, morality and gender at the top of its list of priorities. These are issues that teenagers can relate to. The Pagan Federation of Great Britain states in its three main principles a "love for and kinship with Nature", a "positive morality" and a "recognition of the Divine which transcends gender".
Author Silver Ravenwolf thinks that the inclusion of women is a particularly important factor for the masses of teenage girls who turn to Paganism. She says 'women in particular don't like the idea of being second-class citizens in spirituality. Wicca has the male and female on the same footing'.
The dangers
Parents of teenagers who practice Witchcraft are often worried about what their children might be involved in, and who might be influencing them. Most of these fears can be easily dispelled. Most covens will not admit members under the age of eighteen, so most young Pagans either practice on their own in groups of other teenagers.
Once parents realise their children are practising a nature religion rather than getting involved in evil and the occult, their fears are often put aside.
Teenagers searching for a new kind of spirituality may have stumbled across Paganism through the media, but they have found its messages relevant.
Paganism has come out of the religious left-field and succeeded in attracting the group that institutionalised religions have found so elusive.