Solitary Pagans

"Helen Berger has produced a first-rate study of the most important form of modern Paganism, making her the leading authority upon it."—Ronald Hutton, University of Bristol

"Once more, Berger's formidable work provides important insight for those who study the contemporary Pagan religious movement. Scholarship to date has all but ignored the elephant in the room—the fact that most Pagans are solitary. Berger gives us the best available description of what is an often-hidden, regularly-misunderstood, population. The newly-published "Solitary Pagans" is an outstanding resource, not only for Pagan scholars, but also for Pagan and interfaith seminarians, chaplains and spiritual care workers."—Holli Emore, M.Div., Executive Director of the Cherry Hill Seminary

"This authoritative survey of contemporary paganism combines sympathetic portrayal with rich new data. It highlights neglected themes like the importance of solitaries and eclectics. It will be the new reference point for anyone interested in this rapidly-growing religious milieu."—Linda Woodhead, Research Fellow, Stanford University; Lancaster University

"Solitary Pagans is a welcome, and needed, follow-up to Helen A. Berger's The Voices of the Pagan Census (2003). It reports on Berger's impeccable and detailed "The Pagan Census Revisited" and her cogent analysis in accessible and beautifully written prose. This book should be owned and read by scholars of religions in America, new religions studies, and contemporary Pagan studies. It needs to be in every university and college library."—Catherine Wessinger, Rev. H. James Yamauchi, S.J. Professor of the History of Religions, Loyola University

"No one has done more than Helen Berger to provide statistical evidence for the most significant trends in twenty-first century Paganism and sensitive portraits of individual Pagans' lives. Solitary Pagans offers a compelling argument that from voting to recycling, these solitary religious practitioners, instead of being civically disengaged, are more politically active than the average American."—Sarah M. Pike, author of Earthly Bodies, Magical Selves: Contemporary Pagans and the Search for Community

"Specialists in the study of modern Paganism should read Solitary Pagans, which will also appeal to sociologists interested in American religion and the transformations it is presently undergoing."—Nova Religio

"Solitary Pagans represents the most up-to date, comprehensive picture of the Pagan community and is an important read."—Sociology of Religion

"This focused, data-rich text will provide a critical reference source for all scholars of Pagan Studies. Aside from supplementing current research, Solitary Pagans provides a wellspring of new provocative questions for future exploration."—Archives de Sciences Sociales des Religions