Mass Media and Religious Identity: A Case Study of Young Witches

Abstract

Drawing on interviews with 90 young people who have become Witches, we explore the visual media's influence on identity formation and maintenance. Witchcraft is a late modern religion that is highly individualistic and many young people report they have become a Witch without any interaction with other Witches. The rapid growth of interest in this religion among the young since The Craft was first shown provides an important example of the mass media's role in formation of contemporary religious identity. We argue that representations of Witchcraft in the visual mass media (along with other cultural trends such as environmentalism, feminism, and individualism) and cultural resources such as books, Internet sites, and magazines provide a mediated form of social interaction that sustains the plausibility of Witchcraft as a religion. It also helps the young to develop and legitimate their beliefs and practices and develop their Witchcraft persona.

The Role of Mothers and Media on Emerging Adults’ Religious Faith and Practices by Way of Internalization of Prosocial Values

“…Then, as the famous movie series plays out, those who ''use the Force,'' the main value represented in the film, triumph eventually over the forces of darkness and evil (resultant outcome). Additionally, it has been documented that young people who have become witches (i.e., people who ascribe to the Wiccan religion) did so predominantly because of the visual mass media representations of witches rather than interaction with actual witches (Berger and Ezzy 2009). In such depictions, witches' magical powers allow them to control their environment more effectively to attain desired and self-focused outcomes.…”

A Mixed Blessing

“…The Witches of Eastwick, and television series such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, and Charmed), and the availability of books written by practitioners for a wider public (Berger and Ezzy 2009;Ezzy 2001;Foltz 2005). Greater recognition and interest has generated a larger market for Wiccan products, services, and experiences.…”

“…This diffusion has also been facilitated by the availability of a wide range of magical products. The advent of the Internet and, more recently, social media, has brought further visibility to Wicca's many traditions (Berger and Ezzy 2009), which are now present in countless web sites, blogs, Facebook groups, and Youtube channels. Today, Wicca is a global religious community with a few epicenters (mostly in the British Isles and USA, where Wicca is older and more developed) and many peripheries, where the religion has arrived more recently.…”

What is Wrong with Pagan Studies?

“…In a number of recent publications, Berger and Ezzy have furthermore opened up the field of (largely Internet-mediated) 'teenage witchcraft'(Berger and Ezzy 2007;2009).…”