Paganism in Australia

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This article is about Neopaganism in Australia. For indigenous Australian religion, see Australian Aboriginal mythology.
Paganism is an umbrella term for a diversity of earth-centred spiritual traditions.
An upright pentacle is used by many Pagans, especially Wiccans, as a symbol of faith. The five points of the star inside the sacred circle of life represent the five elements of life: spirit above manifesting as earth, water, air and fire below.
The eight-armed sun cross represents the Pagan Wheel of the Year. Australians celebrate the seasons based on Southern Hemisphere seasonal dates.

Contemporary Paganism, including Wicca, is a growing minority religious group in Australia.

Contents

History[edit]

Alexandrian Wiccans and Gardnerian Wiccans arrived in Australia from England and the United States around the late 1960s.[1]

Demographics[edit]

In the 2001 census by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, over 24,000 people described themselves as Pagan.[1]

The PAGANdash campaign was started to help government and community get a correct representation of the number of Pagans currently in Australia. Originating from the Pagan Community Projects in Queensland in 2005, the Pagan Alliance Network (PAN) also ran a comprehensive PAGANdash program prior to the 2011 census in Australia. All Pagans were asked to fill in their religion as Pagan-(religion), for example a Wiccan would write Pagan-Wiccan as their religion.[2]

In the 2006 census, 29,391 Australians identified their religion as a Pagan religion including 8,207 people who identified their religion as Wicca or Witchcraft.[3]

In the 2011 census, 32,083 Australians identified their religion as a Pagan religion including 8,413 people who identified their religion as Wicca or Witchcraft.[3]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Douglas Ezzy (2009). "Australian Paganisms". In Pizza, Murphy; Lewis, James R. Handbook of Contemporary Paganism. Leiden: BRILL. p. 465. ISBN 9789004163737. 
  2. ^ "HISTORY What is the PAGANdash campaign?". pagandash.org.au. Retrieved 18 November 2012. 
  3. ^ a b "PAGANDASH - STAND UP AND BE COUNTED Results of the 2011 Census". pagandash.org.au. 2012. Retrieved 18 November 2012. 

Further reading[edit]

  • Hume, Lynne (1997). Witchcraft and Paganism in Australia. Melbourne: Melbourne University Press. ISBN 9780522847826. 
  • Bodsworth, Roxanne T (2003). Sunwyse: Celebrating the Sacred Wheel of the Year in Australia. Victoria, Australia: Hihorse Publishing. ISBN 9780909223038. 
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