As children, we were told that witches weren’t real; they were merely the villains in many a fairytale and easily defeated by the good, kind, and true heroes of the stories. As we grew, we learned there were in fact people out there who claimed to be witches, but they weren’t all that bad. Now, as adults, we see the plethora of occult paraphernalia that has flooded the marketplace of ideas and commerce. Neopaganism and New Age are trying to supplant Christianity in America.

According to a Pew Research study, the rise in unaffiliated non-Christian faiths in the United States grew by 6.7% between 2007 and 2014. Nearly 23% of respondents identified as atheist, agnostic, or “nothing in particular.” Of those who identified as “nothing in particular,” almost 7% said religion was important to them. The reality is that man was meant to worship something. It’s just how we’re wired. As Christian apologist G.K. Chesterton once said, “When men stop believing in God they don’t believe in nothing; they believe in anything.” Neopaganism and New Age are seducing religious seekers in their search for answers to life’s deepest questions.

Just what are neopaganism and New Age? According to the LA Progressive — a self-described “platform for progressive thought, opinion and perspectives on current events” — these movements were spiritual alternatives that gained traction and popularity in the 1970s as a result of economic decline.

The New Age movement is a mishmash of different religious systems including Hinduism, astrology, yoga, crystals, manifestations, hallucinogenics, and other means to “heal” yourself and try to make up for past lives’ missteps.

Neopaganism encompasses a range of different religious ideas such as pantheism, animism, polytheism, satanism, and witchcraft. Neopaganists believe in magic, the power of nature, and that you have the magical power within you to make things happen by sheer will. They also are more prone to directly pervert and mock Judeo-Christian practices in their liturgy and religious ceremonies.

Both religions are focused on elevating Self and one’s own experience as the highest form of truth and good. Both are also vehemently against Christianity. In fact, Angela Ucci, a former New Ager who practiced astrology, described it as being antagonistically against Christianity. Ucci, who was interviewed by political pundit Michael Knowles, has a very enlightening testimony about her time as a New Ager and her conversion to Christianity.

The glorification of neopaganism is evident in mainstream Hollywood. FX, a subsidiary of Disney, even produced an “adult” animation series called “Little Demon” that features one of the main characters as a witch. The actress, Aubrey Plaza, who voiced that character, blatantly said, “I love that we are normalizing paganism.” Why would she love that? Because it is the embodiment of chaos.

New Age is so prevalent in the mainstream that some if its ideas have even infiltrated Christians’ belief systems. According to another Pew Research poll, six in 10 Christians say they also believe in one of the New Age beliefs systems, those being spirituality in objects, belief in psychics, belief in astrology, or belief in reincarnation.

Enter leftist ideologues.

Climate change, transgenderism, abortion, cancel culture, and even critical race theory (CRT) have their poisonous roots in New Age and neopagan religious ideas. Under the auspices of New Age fall CRT and cancel culture. The tenets of CRT and cancel culture emphasize the importance of “lived experience,” “special knowledge,” and manifestation of your best life. Anyone who dares to contradict these deserves to be canceled because they are evil according to New Age. Ironically, New Age preaches that it can help its adherents self-help their way out of their problems while also creating a victim class.

Under neopaganism fall climate change, queer gender theory, and abortion, which is effectively considered a religious sacrament by satanists. Neopaganism seeks to upend society and boundaries in favor of chaos and unfettered individual autonomy.

This rise in New Age/mysticism and paganism is getting ever more prevalent in the mainstream culture. In Tyler, Texas, over the weekend, satanists (who would go into the neopaganism column) had a booth at a Pagan Pride event. The Morning Telegraph, a local paper covering the event, quoted the event organizer, Raynie Castañeda, as saying the event was not satanic, just an alternative celebration of non-Abrahamic religions. She said: “There’s kids trick-or-treating, people getting their faces painted. … We’re not doing anything satanic or any crazy rituals. We’re just existing.” She must have missed the part where the Satanic temple booth was preforming “unbaptisms” for $10 and handing out certificates that literally said: “All bonds of servitude have been broken. Power and agency have been restored. Thyself is thy master. Hail Satan!” Maybe Castañeda doesn’t understand what “satanic” is?

New Age and neopaganism are the religious underpinnings of the most radical leftist ideological movements whose aim is the destruction of American society as a whole. Christ preaches about the denial of the Self (Matthew 16:24-26) and following Him; that He is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6).

New Age and neopaganism are regressive, transgressive, and do not bring the satisfaction or happiness that they promise to bring, mostly because their focus is entirely on Self. One’s Self is a very poor deity indeed.