Witchcraft and Paganism In Australia

An absorbing anthropological study that examines paganism as a case study of religious difference and its place in modern society.

This book contributes in a most original way to the growing literature on comparative religion and new religious movements. More specifically, it draws attention to a new religious movement. Neo-Paganism, or Paganism, is rapidly growing in membership throughout the Western world, and is gaining increasing interest throughout Australia. Using a multidisciplinary approach, Hume describes the emergence of a controversial worldview that has its roots in some ancient ideas but whose ideology is firmly rooted in the twentieth century. Hume poses some interesting questions- is Paganism a religion? What do its practitioners believe and do? What place does it have in a modern nation like Australia? What are its historical roots? Is it dangerous? Is it legal? How do people learn about it? Why is it adopted as a belief system? What is the emic viewpoint; the view from the believer’s perspective? As an anthropological analysis of a social phenomenon, Witchcraft and Paganism in Australia is an intriguing and accessible study.