This tactic in portraying a religion escapes the biased opinions of outsiders or of one particular person. Instead, a complete overview of a religion is given by the many aspects of which are included in the book. I believe Adler chose a broad variety of people to include in her discussions because often times the scholar's opinions were not in complete accord. Among the worshippers, this difference of opinions is expected when studying Pagan and Neo-Pagan practices because a basic belief of these people is that one should arrive at their own individual belief based on the influence of personal experience. Many Pagans and Neo-Pagans are proud of their absence of dogma and the emphasis on creativity and originality.
Personal spirituality seems to be more important than history.
Some important characteristics of many Neo-Pagans are animism, meaning that all things have vitality and life force, pantheism, defined as divinity being inseparable from nature, and polytheism, meaning that reality is multiple and diverse. The polytheistic views give way to a high tolerance for diversity and other religious practices. Differences are accepted and celebrated, which allows for unity and diversity. Monotheism is contained in polytheism, but the reverse is not true. Many Wiccans worship a Mother Goddess in her three aspects of Maiden, Mother, and Crone.