How many Wiccan youth are there?

There is no method by which an accurate estimate can be made of the number of Wiccans in North America. Phyllis Curott, author of an autobiographical Wiccan journal "Book of Shadows" is reported as estimating the number in the U.S. as 3 to 5 million. ₂ This seems high. Because of the decentralized nature of the religion, no records are kept of the Wiccan population. However, various attempts to estimate the number have been based on book sales and the numbers of visitors to Wiccan festivals. U.S. estimates of 250,000 to 400,000 Wiccans are typical. 

Estimating the number of Wiccan youth is even less accurate. However, there are some indications that the total number of members is large and is growing quickly:

	Silver Ravenwolf recently wrote a book: "Teen Witch: Wicca for a New Generation." 3 It was published by Llewellyn Publications, a publishing company that specializes in Wiccan, New Age and magick books. Llewellyn Publicist Jamie Schumacher reports that Teen Witch has sold more copies than any other book in their 95 year history. 4
	Danny Aguirre is a spokesperson for the Spiritual Counterfeits Project. 5 SCP is an Evangelical Christian non-profit organization that is part of the counter-cult movement. They are heavily motivated to draw people away from Wicca and other new religious movements, because they believe that only through faith in Jesus Christ can people be delivered from eternal torture in Hell. Their bias against other faith groups is obvious from the term "spiritual counterfeits" in their name. Their role is to monitor "new religions and spiritual trends" and to analyze them from a conservative Christian "biblical perspective." Aguirre reported that: "In the last six months, I have received more inquiries about Wicca than any other religion in the 10 years I have worked here." He mentioned that the callers are "all teen-age girls."
	The Witch's Voice website, 6 was once the most heavily visited religious site on the Internet according to Hitbox.com. A survey of their visitors revealed that 60% were under 30 years of age; 62% were female.
	This author has noticed an increase in recent years of: The percentage of small bookstores carrying Wiccan and other Neopagan books The percentage of Wiccan books in bookstores' New Age section The numbers of Emails received by this website from teenagers with questions about Wicca Media reports of the number of conflicts between Wiccan students in public high schools and their school boards over the wearing of pentacles as religious jewelry.