Britain | Trance advance

Shamanism is Britain’s fastest-growing religion

Climate anxiety helps to explain its rising popularity

Mandatory Credit: Photo by Kim Ludbrook/EPA/Shutterstock (8874314f)A shaman waits for the sun to rise on the summer solstice during the annual festival at Stonehenge, Salisbury, Britain, 21 June 2017. The annual festival attracts hundreds of people to the 5000 year old stone circle to mark the longest day in the northern hemisphere. sunrise was at 4.52am and was celebrated by dancing, music, and ritualistic events around the stones.Stonehenge summer solstice festival in Britain, Salisbury, United Kingdom - 21 Jun 2017
Image: REX Shutterstock

In a garden studio in north London, Steve Altman holds a monthly shamanic drumming circle. Participants stand with arms outstretched as Mr Altman traces their shape in the air with burning copal, a Mexican incense, in a purifying ritual known as “smudging”.

This article appeared in the Britain section of the print edition under the headline “Trance advance”

Chatbots and the battle for search

From the February 11th 2023 edition

Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents

Explore the edition

More from Britain

Stock price information displayed on a board at the London Stock Exchange.

Britain’s brokers are diversifying and becoming less British

London’s depleted stockmarket is forcing them to change

Sculpture by Charles Jencks of DNA double helix Cambridge University.

What a buzzy startup reveals about Britain’s biotech sector

Lots of clever scientists, not enough business nous


Illustration of Kier Starmer facing away next to the stripes of the Union Jack and the stars of the EU flag

Britain’s government lacks a clear Europe policy

It should be more ambitious over getting closer to the EU


The Rachel Reeves theory of growth

The chancellor says it’s her number-one priority. We ask her what that means for Britain