Haase_UZ_x007E_DTh (2).pdf - South African Theological Seminary

adherence overall declined from 86.2% in 1971 to 70.3% in 1996. The 2001 government
census showed that those admitting to Neo-Pagan, or New Age adherence were still
small, but growing: Druidism (697 members), nature religions (2,176 and 49 members),
Paganism (10,632 members), pantheism (1,085 members), and Wicca (8,755 members), a
total of 23,394. These numbers are double those given by self-identified pagans in the
1991 Australian government census (Bouma, 1999).
Prof. Ronald Hutton (University of Bristol), author of several books on the subject
including, The Triumph of the Moon: A History of Modern Pagan Witchcraft (2001),
have compared membership lists, attendance at major events, magazine subscriptions and
the like, to gather better data about the true number of Neo-Pagan adherents. Yet,
because of membership overlap, and inaccurate record-keeping, these studies are only of
marginal value. Another group, the Covenant of the Goddess (www.cog.org), conducted
a North American poll in 1999 that estimated the Neo-Pagan population at nearly
800,000. This figure may actually be more accurate than the data produced via traditional
research. Again, what is nearly impossible to know, and what is arguably the major
concern, is how many ‘dabble’ and ‘blend’ Neo-Pagan, Eastern and various other beliefs
with traditional religions
Leffel and McCallum wondered why some central features of Eastern mysticism and
postmodernism were so strikingly similar (McCallum, 1996:205). They acknowledge
that postmodernism is rooted in Nietzsche, Heidegger, Marx and others, but also note the
seeming Eastern and tribal (or animistic) religious influence. The commonality, they
believe, is the lack of respect that all give to rationality. This relativistic, irrational bent
in postmodernism, has helped contribute to wider acceptance of Eastern thinking, which
has also been a popular alternative religion and worldview since about the 1960’s, about
the same time the deconstructive postmodern wave peaked, and the pagan renaissance
gained wide popularity.
Because postmodern analysis is in harmony
with Eastern religion, postmodernists also
may have hijacked Western interest in
mysticism as a vehicle for propagating their
views. The cultures that spawned Eastern
religions as well as animistic mysticisms are
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University of Zululand, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa