Radio host and author Carmen LaBerge noted on Twitter that the figures are striking in that witches outnumber certain Christian denominations. "As mainline Protestantism continues its devolution, the U.S. witch population is rising astronomically. There may now be more Americans who identify as practicing witches, 1.5 mil, than there are members of mainline Presbyterianism (PCUSA) 1.4 mil," she said Tuesday.
The population of self-identified witches has risen dramatically in the United States in recent decades, as interest in astrology and witchcraft practices have become increasingly mainstreamed.
All you need is an Instagram account in order to see how witchcraft has so throughly infiltrated American culture. Everywhere you look, people who don’t even necessarily identify as a witch are praying to the ‘spirit of the universe’, using incantations, potions, spells, charms and other things that have long been associated with witches and witchcraft. I have been in Christian churches where preachers were teaching their congregation how to ‘manifest what they want’ by tapping into the ‘universal spirit’.
“There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer.” Deuteronomy 18:10,11 (KJV)
The Wicca movement had less than ten thousand members in 1990, but by 2008 their rolls had swollen to over 340,000 practicing Wiccans. Their growth comes primarily by hiding behind things like promoting climate change awareness, generic prayer and meditation, and the current female self-empowerment movement which is very popular. Are you a Boss Babe? You might be surprised to learn that has its roots in witchcraft as well. The so-called Wellness Industry is saturated with Wicca, witchcraft and pagan ideals.