According to the latest census, an unlikely “religion” is growing in popularity across England and Wales: shamanism. Just 650 people said they subscribed to the belief system in 2011, but that figure has increased more than tenfold over the past decade to 8,000 people in 2022. This makes shamanism the countries’ fastest-growing religion. So what exactly is it?
Although not an organised religion, shamanism has been around for thousands of years. We don’t know the exact place or moment that shamanism entered human consciousness, but we do know that it has inspired our art, technology and medicine.
It has been found in Australia, Siberia, Korea and throughout the Americas, and is claimed as the root of some religions such as the Bon form of Buddhism, which is found in Tibet.
