3.26.2008
Raven Digitalis on MTV
Taking a break from filming reality-television programs, MTV (the network formerly know as "music television") profiles the Wiccan faith and interviews "Goth Craft" author Raven Digitalis.
"Raven has been a Pagan priest for four years, practicing witchcraft and hosting rituals for local Pagans at his house, which is just 10 minutes from the downtown strip. "The Craft is one of the most empowering religions or spiritual lifestyles that exists," he explained."
As for the article itself, it is your basic Wiccans/Pagans don't worship Satan, don't cast malicious spells, don't eat babies material. What makes the article interesting is its exclusive focus on teens and younger twenty-somethings (Digitalis is 24), instead of seeking the normal assortment of "elders" and "experts". A result of this focus is that we get a peek into what shaped their religious development.
"A surprising number of young witches MTV News spoke with also said that they became curious about their faith through misguiding pop-culture fare like the camp Neve Campbell vehicle "The Craft" and the "Harry Potter" series. (Guess a few conservative Christian groups were right about that one) ... many young people enter the Craft in reaction to a very conservative religious upbringing - Southern Baptist, perhaps, or Catholic."
The article also name-checks teen-friendly groups and organizations like the Tempest Smith Foundation, and Copper Moon E-Zine, in addition to a selection of teen-friendly books on magic.
At this point it would be fair to say that MTV are hardly cultural innovators, so teen interest in Wicca and Paganism must be growing to a point where it's practically a mainstream phenomenon. The sympathetic coverage given here may very well be the harbinger of a new surge of interest in teen Paganism that will rival the late-90s boom (remember, "The Craft" and Silver Ravenwolf's "Teen Witch" both came out in the late 90s). In the meantime, congrats to Raven Digitalis on the start of his fifteen minutes.
Labels: goth, Goth Craft, MTV, Paganism, Raven Digitalis, teens, Wicca, Witchcraft
12.05.2007
Pagan Interviews of Note
Religious blogger and academic John Morehead has recently posted two interviews of interest to the larger Pagan community. The first is at his Theofantastique blog where he interviews Pagan author, academic, and movie critic Peg Aloi concerning Pagan and occult themes in film, and her forthcoming book (co-authored with Hannah Johnston) "The Celluloid Bough: Cinema in the Wake of the Occult Revival".
"...the first example of occult cinema that had widespread and culture-changing impact was Roman Polanski's 1968 film Rosemary's Baby. In addition to its being a very artful and entertaining film, based on an equally artful novel by Ira Levin, there were some real-life occurrences that added to its aura of evil, and fueled a widespread spirit of protest against all things occult, even as the film ushered in a palpable fascination with the occult."
Then back at his primary blog, Morehead's Musings, he interviews Aloi's collaborator and writing partner Hannah Johnston, Adjunct Professor in Visual and Media Arts at Emerson College, concerning teen Witches and a recently released collection of essays on the subject (co-edited with Peg Aloi) entitled "The New Generation Witches: Teenage Witchcraft in Contemporary Culture".
"...having become aware of the distinctions between teenage Witchcraft and the adult Pagan/Wiccan/Witchcraft communities at the end of the 1990s, I was struck by the emergence of teen Witchcraft as a distinctive articulation of popular culture post-feminism, and I went on to pursue my doctorate in the field, investigating teen Witchcraft as an amalgamation of new religious structures, pop media poaching from alternative beliefs and new age practices and new feminist concepts of 'girl power'."
Both interviews (and books) are worth the effort to read. It is often the case that pop-culture and youth-oriented permutations of a religious movement are devalued by "insiders" and older demographics who see these representations and recent adherents as lacking in seriousness or real worth. But how we are displayed in popular media, and how the next generation of modern Pagans adapt and changes with the times are truly important topics that I'm glad writers like Aloi and Johnston are covering.
Labels: books, Hannah Johnston, John Morehead, movies, Peg Aloi, pop-culture, teens, Wicca, Witch
5.20.2007
The Continuing Rise of Teen Witches
The Independent takes a look at the phenomena of teenage Witches in the UK, which according to recent studies is still on the rise.
"Record numbers of young women are dabbling in witchcraft, fuelling a boom in sales of spell books and other pagan paraphernalia, according to new research. A study of teenagers and their consumption of books, magazines, kits, film and other media found that there are some 700,000 internet sites for teenage witches. The Pagan Federation claims to have several hundred inquiries a week from young people, and has set up a network for those under 18. "There has been a noticeable rise in the number of young people identifying themselves as witches," said Denise Cush, professor of religious studies at Bath Spa University."
Denise Cush has two studies relating to teen Witches in the UK, "Wise young women: beliefs, values and influences in the adoption of Witchcraft by teenage girls in England" that appears in a new book edited by Hannah E. Johnston and Peg Aloi, and "Consumer witchcraft: are teenage witches a creation of commercial interests?" which appears in the latest issue of the Journal of Beliefs & Values. Cush says that a main factor in drawing (mostly female) teens to Witchcraft is its tolerant and woman-friendly attitudes.
"According to Professor Cush's report, based on interviews with witches aged 18 to 24, it is the attitude to women that most attracts them: 'Paganism and witchcraft appealed because of their clear feminist credentials and absence of homophobia. A main attraction is the positive valuation of women in comparison with other religions.'"
This data along with other studies done recently in America point to a continuing and growing interest in modern Pagan faiths by younger men and women. These newcomers aren't merely overzealous "Buffy" fans (as some claim), but are making serious considerations about their religious path. This seems to back up claims that Wicca, and modern Paganism in general, will continue to grow at a healthy rate and will soon become a faith category impossible to ignore within the mainstream.
Labels: Denise Cush, teens, UK, Wicca, Witchcraft
12.22.2006
The Surprising Rise of the Teen Witches
In the spirit of the approaching new year, conservative Christian polling organization The Barna Group has listed their 12 most significant religious findings from 2006 surveys. Among them is the rise of teen dabbling in Wicca and other "occult" activities.
"Three out of every four teenagers have engaged in at least one type of psychic or witchcraft-related activity. Among the most common of those endeavors are using a Ouija board, reading books about witchcraft or Wicca, playing games involving sorcery or witchcraft, having a "professional" do a palm reading or having their fortune told. Conversely, during the past year fewer than three out of every ten churched teenagers had received any teaching from their church about elements of the supernatural."
But while it is interesting that this result (which I blogged about back in February) made his "top 12", the real interesting thing is George Barna's predictions for the future of religion in America.
"There will be new forms of spiritual leadership, different expressions of faith, and greater variety in when and where people meet together to be communities of faith. Ecumenism will expand, as the emerging generations pay less attention to doctrine and more attention to relationships and experiences. Barna predicted that there will be a broader network of micro-faith communities built around lifestyle affinities, such as gay communities of faith, marketplace professionals who gather for faith experiences, and so forth."
In other words, modern Paganism will continue to move towards the mainstream, and religion in general will gravitate more to questions of practice, experience, and community than doctrinal belief (a trend that also benefits our faiths). Not that Barna will say this outright, he is instead placing his hope for the future in a group he dubs the "revolutionaries".
"The Revolutionary community - which incorporates divergent but compatible groups of people who are seeking to make their faith the driving force in their life - is reshaping American faith in ways which we are just beginning to understand."
These "revolutionaries" are the Christian part of a "widening gap" Barna detects between the casually religious and those who make religion a central part of their lives. Of course the problem with religious communities becoming fractured from secular society and ever-more devout is that the chances for religiously motivated violence (from between faiths and between believers and the "secular" world) from these isolated demographics increases. Is Barna hinting at a future "revolution" headed by his Christian "revolutionaries"? A group opposed to the Pagan and Secular future Barna predicts? I guess we will have to wait and see, but keep in mind that classic line about lies, damn lies, and statistics.
Labels: occult, Paganism, teens, The Barna Group, Wicca, Witchcraft
