The Pagan Census - Revisited

Pagan Census
(please follow the link to take the survey)

We are conducting an international survey of contemporary Pagans. If you are a Pagan we would appreciate your taking the time to complete this survey.

This survey builds on an earlier one completed over twenty years ago, primarily in the United States, which was conducted by Helen A. Berger and Andras Arthen (of the EarthSpirit Community) entitled the Pagan Census. At the time it was hoped that we could do a census of the entire Pagan population. Although that was not possible the data that was collected was the largest of it type and served as the basis of a book, Voices from the Pagan Census by Helen A. Berger (with Evan Leach and Leigh S. Shaffer). The survey data is now available on line at Murray Research Archive at Harvard University.

A number of scholars have noted that it would be helpful to have a follow-up of that survey to see if and how the community has changed or remained the same. The survey that follows uses many, although not all of the same questions that were in the original survey to provide that comparison. There are also new questions, for instance about the Internet, something that was of little interest 20 years ago but is now, and some from other studies, that again permit a comparison. This has resulted in the survey being somewhat long--we appreciate your taking the time to complete it.

We realize that the categories found in questionnaires like this one frequently do not do justice to the complexities of real life. For this reason, a number of open-ended items have been included that allow for more nuanced responses. You are also welcome to contact Helen A. Berger directly at HBerger@wcupa.edu

Please inform other Pagans about this research project and feel free to pass it along via e-mail or to post a link on appropriate blogs or websites.

Thanks for your help.

Helen A. Berger
James R. Lewis
Henrik Bogdan

Pagan Census
(please follow the link to take the survey)

Tags: census, pagan, research, survey

Replies are closed for this discussion.

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Nightshade Fyrelight on September 5, 2009 at 8:57pm: Took the census survey :) It was sooo long though! LOL

Permalink Reply by SilverWynd on September 5, 2009 at 9:52pm: I know! But I grinned and bared it so I could be counted. US Census stuff is worse, long and agonizing questions and they come back in 6 months to a year to do it again.

Permalink Reply by Nyx_DarkSky on September 6, 2009 at 1:41am: SilverWynd, Sweetie, please do not take this the wrong, but at this time, I *Personally* have not taken this survey due to a lack of information provided in the above post... You stated -- This survey builds on an earlier one completed over twenty years ago, --

My questions are:
You stated -- We are conducting an international survey of contemporary Pagans. --
Who's We?
Wheres the information submitted going?
Who is sponsoring this survey?
What will the information be used for?
Who's providing the web site the survey is on?
Is the site a secure site the survey is on?
Who conducting the survey?

Also another PaganSpace member - Chas S. Clifton - has this exact same thing listed in his blog post..

If you could help by answering my questions, I would be more than happy to take the survey.
Hugs
~Nyx DarkSky~

Permalink Reply by Arcane the WhiteRaven on September 6, 2009 at 2:13am: *doh*
didnt think of that.

I already took it

Permalink Reply by Norseman on September 6, 2009 at 4:46am: Supposed to be International ? yeh, right ! needs some work to be meaningful outside of US

Permalink Reply by Pavlor on September 6, 2009 at 2:24pm: Yeah, this is exactly what I thought. It's incredibly biased.

Permalink Reply by Melanie on September 6, 2009 at 5:41pm: When I took it it had like every country on there took me forever to find the US! In fact!

Permalink Reply by SilverWynd on September 6, 2009 at 10:18am: Sorry folks, I certainly didn't mean to cause an uproar or confusion. I was just passing the information that I received along to others. I will do a little more research and hopefully answer some of your questions.

Permalink Reply by Nyx_DarkSky on September 6, 2009 at 1:21pm: SilverWynd, no uproar sweetie.. Was just asking :)
Hugs
~Nyx~

Permalink Reply by morgaine1571 on September 6, 2009 at 11:23am: what is this to be used for? its a bit of a run on sentence.

Permalink Reply by Sagemoon on September 6, 2009 at 2:01pm: The message I got about this survey is that it is sponsored by Cherry Hill Seminary www.cherryhillseminary.org which is a legit organization. I only took a glance at the website and did not see anything about the survey there. I don't have time to keep researching. Does someone else?

Permalink Reply by SilverWynd on September 6, 2009 at 4:08pm: When I received this email on one of my pagan groups the person forwarding it stated "This is VERY important! If you consider yourself Pagan, please take time for this survey. One reason we are not taken seriously or respected is because we are so closeted. These are reputable people doing the study. Incidentally, the first book was published here in Columbia by the USC Press!" This statement hit home with me because I think there is some truth in not being taken seriously because we don't speak up. So I decided to pass along the message to the biggest group of very vocal Pagans I know thinking that it was an opportunity and hoping we would step up as a community.

As promised here is a little more information about the survey.......

As stated in the posting above Helen Berger, who is a professor of socialogy and author of pagan books is conducting this survey and invites you to contact her directly if you have any questions at HBerger@wcupa.edu (this is a West Chester University of Pennsylvania email address). This is a link to her bio http://www.wcupa.edu/_academics/sch_cas/professors/helen_berger.html. The previous time she conducted this survey she used it for a book (which is also stated above. Though it is not clear what she intends to do with the information this time around I certainly don't get the impression that it is not for ill will.

The survey is being taken on SurveyMonkey.com which is a secure site registered with the BBB. The survey does not ask for your name (real or magickal) and no email address. So this seems pretty safe to me.

If you are someone living outside the US and feel the survey is lacking proper representation of your country then by all means shoot an email to Dr. Berger.

Hopefully this will put your minds at ease but if not don't take the survey. I look at is as an opportunity and priveledge to be heard not an obligation but that's just my humble opinion.