Robyn Lebron as Paganism became attractive as the hippy trail led people to alternate lifestyles and anti-establishment philosophies In North America, there was also an increased interest in Native American traditions and the Afro-American traditions of Santeria, Candomblè and Vodoun In Europe, this new wave of free spirits reconstructed local holy sites and resurrected traditional ceremonies Since the later twentieth century, “Pagan” or “Paganism” has become widely used as a self-designation by adherents of Neo-Paganism As such, various modern scholars have begun to apply the term to three separate groups of faiths: Historical Polytheism (such as Celtic polytheism and Norse Paganism), Folk/ethnic/Indigenous religions (such as Chinese folk religion and African Traditional Religion), and Neo-Paganism (such as Wicca and Germanic Neo-Paganism) Since that time Wicca has grown in popularity and has encouraged the revival of the original Pagan roots and the re-emergence of other Pagan branches such as the Northern tradition and the modern Druids Wicca itself has become more eclectic and has absorbed elements of other systems such as the Qabala and elements of Hindu While Wicca is relatively new, Paganism is as old as mankind and its traditions are still being rediscovered.8 Contemporary Paganism is the restoration of indigenous religion, especially that of ancient Europe Paganism has grown in popularity greatly during the last one hundred years The growth coincides with a decline in Christianity in Europe and the increase in knowledge of past and distant cultures Neo-Paganism in the United States accounts for roughly a third of all Neo-Pagans worldwide and the sixth largest non-Christian denomination after Judaism (1.4 percent), Islam (0.6 percent), Buddhism (0.5 percent), Hinduism (0.3 percent), and Unitarian Universalism (0.3 percent) One researcher points out some of the practical problems in establishing the numbers of any Neo-Pagan group Nevertheless, some estimates have been attempted Adherents com, an independent website that specializes in collecting estimates of world religions, estimates the total number of all Pagan religions at over three million Their median estimate for Wiccan numbers alone is eight hundred thousand worldwide