Solitary Pagans

Contemporary Witches, Wiccans, and Others Who Practice Alone (Non Series)

By: Helen A. Berger

Narrated by: Cynthia Wallace

Solitary Pagans is the first book to explore the growing phenomenon of contemporary Pagans who practice alone. Although the majority of Pagans in the United States have abandoned the tradition of practicing in groups, little is known about these individuals or their way of practice. Helen A. Berger fills that gap by building on a massive survey of contemporary practitioners. By examining the data, Berger describes solitary practitioners demographically and explores their spiritual practices, level of social engagement, and political activities. Contrasting the solitary Pagans with those who practice in groups and more generally with other non-Pagan Americans, she also compares contemporary US Pagans with those in the United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada.

Berger brings to light the new face of contemporary paganism by analyzing those who learn about the religion from books or the Internet and conduct rituals alone in their gardens, the woods, or their homes. Some observers believe this social isolation and political withdrawal has resulted in an increase in narcissism and a decline in morality, while others argue to the contrary that it has produced a new form of social integration and political activity. Berger posits the implications of her findings to reveal a better understanding of other metaphysical religions and those who shun traditional religious organizations.

The book is published by University of South Carolina Press. The audiobook is published by University Press Audiobooks.

"A first-rate study of the most important form of modern Paganism, making her the leading authority upon it." (Ronald Hutton, University of Bristol)

"Represents the most up-to date, comprehensive picture of the Pagan community and is an important read." (Sociology of Religion)

"An outstanding resource..." (Holli Emore, Executive Director of the Cherry Hill Seminary)

©2019 University of South Carolina Press (P)2020 Redwood Audiobooks

This was a struggle for me to get through....

As a solitary practicing Pagan, I was extremely excited to listen to this book and possibly learn something new. I suppose I was a little over eager when I was reading the description of the book and missed the part where it talks about this survey the author had conducted in the past. All this book is about is that survey with a bunch of percentages. If you are into academia and drawn out explanations, then this is for you. I personally couldn't get through the entirety of this book. The narrator was boring and read with fake enthusiasm like she didn't believe a word that was said, just pushing through the book to get a paycheck. I really hate I wasted a credit on this.