Millennials Are Embracing the Occult: Here’s Why

According to recent statistics, an increasing number of millennials are showing interest in alternative belief systems.

Witchcraft’s appeal is especially strong among young American women, and has found its place in mainstream media — reality shows, music, and movies with supernatural themes abound, as do websites that speak of the supernatural and the occult.

And while millennials still hold strong spiritual beliefs, many are turning away from Christianity’s more rigid doctrines and tenets. Here are a few of the main societal trends that explain this.

1. Having the world at your fingertips

Thanks to the internet, millennials are the first generation to have the ability to research any topic and to receive an almost unlimited amount of information in an instant.

Earlier generations were often only influenced by their families, friends, and neighbors. Technology now enables people to find out what others from around the world think and believe.

2. Embracing nature

The ancient traditions of witchcraft and paganism include a celebration and appreciation of nature. As such, many millennials are drawn to nature-based spiritual alternatives like wicca because of their awareness of environmental issues.

Whether it be astrology, shamanism, tarot reading or wicca, these traditions offer ways for people to enact change in their lives – and in the environment that surrounds them. For a generation that grew up in a world of consumerism and environmental destruction, this is especially meaningful.

3. Accepting difference

Millennials simply think differently than their parents or grandparents. Morality isn’t tied to religion, and people with different beliefs, ideals or traditions are more openly accepted.

For instance, ghost hunting, voodoo or astrology aren’t seen as sinful, potentially dangerous “black art” – millennials are more inclined to see these beliefs within their cultural context and engage in meaningful dialogue with their practitioners.

4. Equality of gender and sexual orientation

In alternative religions like Wicca, the sexes are equal. Both the God and Goddess in wiccan practices have an equal share of power and responsibility, and are to be revered equally by the followers. The same can be said of the tarot’s Major Arcana, which presents the Emperor and the Empress as equally strong archetypes of both sexes.

Wiccans are also accepting of any lifestyle, and this appeals to those that are uncomfortable with the strictness of Christianity against homosexual behavior. There are 11 million Americans that identify as LGBTQ in the United States, and many millennials feel that traditional Christian churches do not have a place for them or value them equally.

The bottom line

Obviously, how people choose to seek out answers for their spiritual questions is a personal choice. The ease of accessing and researching any topic as well as the acceptance of people that choose to be different are primary reasons why millennials happily follow different paths than the generations before them. The response could also be a reaction to the lack of tolerance common with older generations.

Whatever the reason, the variety of beliefs and the search for answers proves how important freedom of religion — and the right to have no religion — is for all Americans.

About the author: Jeanine Duval is the editor-in-chief at Edelwyn, an online resource for tarot entheusiasts.