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The article presents the cultural reception of Old Uppsala with a focus in how it is used by contemporary Heathens. Modern Swedish Heathens see the place as spiritually significant, and there have been public blots at the site yearly since 2000. Such rituals are only ambivalently tolerated by the museum and Swedish National Heritage Board. In recent years other groups have started to use the site as well and it has also been used by a variety of smaller shamanistic groups. For Heathens, the place a sacred area, representing the last significant religious site for pre-Christian Norse religion and resistance to Christianization. I argue that Old Uppsala lies at the center of Sweden's often complicated relationship with its own history. Its story follows broader cultural trends connected to national identity and when modern Heathens enter the scene, they become a part of this larger debate. The article will look at how the museum presents the Viking age and how their presentations both work with and in opposition to Heathen constructions about Viking age religion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction to the journal is presented that focuses on issues related to the study of new, emergent, and changing religions, including the key aspects of Swedish traditionalism, linguistic analysis of Scientological discourse, and the political involvement of the Satanic Temple in the U.S.

This article explores the development and ideology of The Satanic Temple, against the background of current American politics. The Satanic Temple is a recent addition to the Satanic milieu, and is positioned here as a form of "rationalist" Satanism that draws on the figure of Satan as a symbol of rebellion. The discussion follows the emergence of The Satanic Temple and its introduction to the mainstream media around 2012, the influences of esoteric, feminist, and secularist ideas on the group, and its present manifestation as a politically engaged "occulture." [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focused on how a stigmatized identity affects mental health and problems of discrimination it provides a quantitative perspective on the lived experience of being a Satanist. Topics include provides a view on how Satanism has changed regarding gender and political sympathies; and sample consists mainly of members from the Satanic Temple, with a significant minority from the Church of Satan.

Santa Muerte is establishing a presence among practitioners of contemporary occultism in Europe and North America. The occult milieu is highly different from the Mexican cult of Santa Muerte, having a strong heritage of secrecy and tradition as social capital and being mostly middle-class in orientation. Nonetheless, this Catholic folk saint with a mostly pragmatic, popular, and grassroots cult is becoming increasingly popular among occultists. Based on a survey of three recent books on Santa Muerte geared towards an Anglophone, occult audience, it is therefore the aim of this article to understand how and why the Skeleton Saint is attracting adherents in the occult milieu, by analyzing the underlying causes of this growing trend, as well as the conditions shaping it. It is the overall argument of this article that the beginning reception of Santa Muerte in occultism is a result of perceived needs and demands specific to the occult milieu rather than characteristics inherent in the symbol itself, and that an analysis of the ways in which she is spreading outside of her original sociocultural context must be guided by an understanding of the novel one she is integrated in. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]