Books like A community of witches by Helen A. Berger

Helen A. Berger documents Neo‑Paganism, often called Wicca, as a late‑modern religious movement that entered the United States in the late 1960s from Britain. Her extensive ten‑year participant‑observation on the eastern seaboard, coupled with a national survey, reveals how the tradition absorbs contemporary social concerns—feminism, environmentalism, self‑development, alternative spirituality, and scepticism of authority—into its rituals and worldview. Berger argues that, despite its decentralized structure, Neo‑Paganism shares key religious traits: ritual appropriation, a holistic cosmology, self‑transformation, and an integration of personal and political life. The work dispels the notion that it is merely a cultural trend, positioning it instead as a significant religious phenomenon of the late twentieth century.

First publish date: November 1998