History of Wicca hypothesized secret religion. Many Wiccans, particularly those of the early decades, believed that their religion was a continuation of the witch-cult. It was only during the 1980s and 1990s that some Wiccans began to see the idea of the Witch-Cult as a creation myth rather than as historical fact. For instance, in 1998, Wiccan Jenny Gibbons stated that: Another hypothesis that would have major influence on Wicca during its development was the idea of primitive matriarchal religions, which derived from the work of the Swiss lawyer Johann Jakob Bachofen, was popular in Gardner's day, both among academics (e.g., Erich Neumann,
Earth religion of relating to God, gods, and spirits." The term "earth religion" encompasses any religion that worships the earth, nature or fertility gods or goddesses. There is an array of groups and beliefs that fall under earth religion, such as paganism, which is a polytheistic, nature based religion; animism, which is the worldview that all living entities (plants, animals, and humans) possess a spirit; Wicca, who hold the concept of an earth mother goddess as well as practice ritual magic; and druidism, which equates divinity with the natural world. Another perspective of earth religion to consider is pantheism, which takes a