https://www.economist.com/britain/2023/02/09/shamanism-is-britains-fastest-growing-religion

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Britain | Trance advance

Shamanism is Britain's fastest-growing religion

Climate anxiety helps to explain its rising popularity

Mandatory Credit: Photo by Kim Ludbrook/EPA/Shutterstock (8874314f)A
shaman waits for the sun to rise on the summer solstice during the
annual festival at Stonehenge, Salisbury, Britain, 21 June 2017. The
annual festival attracts hundreds of people to the 5000 year old
stone circle to mark the longest day in the northern hemisphere.
sunrise was at 4.52am and was celebrated by dancing, music, and
ritualistic events around the stones.Stonehenge summer solstice
festival in Britain, Salisbury, United Kingdom - 21 Jun 2017
Feb 9th 2023
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In a garden studio in north London, Steve Altman holds a monthly
shamanic drumming circle. Participants stand with arms outstretched
as Mr Altman traces their shape in the air with burning copal, a
Mexican incense, in a purifying ritual known as "smudging".

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Ground snake skin, feathers, candles and bowls of water, each
representing the four elements of Inca cosmology, sit in the centre
of the room. The ceremony culminates in a "soul journey", in which
rhythmic drumming is believed to facilitate an ascent to the spirit
realm. One woman describes climbing vines to the heavens. From
Colindale.

Shamanism is rooted in animism, the idea that every entity in nature,
whether plant, animal or rock, is alive. Trance is the core shared
practice. Shamans (who are traditionally trained by other shamans)
learn to enter trances--aided by drumming, singing, dancing or,
occasionally, psychotropic drugs--to commune with spirits. Such
beliefs date back to hunter-gatherer societies. "We talk about
[prostitution being] the oldest profession but really, it's
shamanism," says Simon Buxton of the Sacred Trust, a shamanic
training centre.

If shamanism has a long history, it was barely practised in Britain
until recently. In the English and Welsh census of 2011 just 650
people said it was their religion. But its popularity is increasing.
In the census of 2021, the results of which were released in
November, that figure had increased to 8,000. Partly because the
numbers are small, that makes shamanism Britain's fastest-growing
faith.

Alexander Alich, who researches the subject at Birmingham University,
says its appeal cuts across age, race and class. One reason is
climate change. Almost one in 20 Britons said they experienced
climate anxiety in 2022: shamanism places all things in nature on an
equal footing. Paganism, another religion rooted in nature, is also
on the rise. "It gives people a spiritual outlet for their political
beliefs [about climate change]," says Mr Buxton.

A small but growing number of therapists integrate shamanism into
their work. They might guide a lonely client to embody the energy of
a tree and reconnect with nature, says Paul Francis, a
psychotherapist who teaches shamanic counselling at The Three Ravens
College of Therapeutic Shamanism, in Wales. They might also help
patients with "soul loss"--what others would call post-traumatic
stress disorder--by searching for a lost part of them in the spirit
realm. Even the corporate world is interested: Sarah Negus, a
shamanic business coach, has ministered to everyone from Microsoft
executives to TEDx speakers.

But popularity can attract opportunists. The title "shaman" is
unregulated, so anyone can claim it. "It's become a buzzword in
marketing," says Mr Alich. "A lot of people don't understand what it
means: they just slap it on anything."

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This article appeared in the Britain section of the print edition
under the headline "Trance advance"

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