Wicca is a modern neo-pagan syncretic religion. Scholars of religion categorize it as both a new religious movement and as part of the occultist Western esotericism. It was developed in England during the first half of the 20th century and was introduced to the public in 1954 by Gerald Gardner, a retired British civil servant. Wicca draws upon a diverse set of ancient pagan and 20th-century hermetic motifs for its theological structure and ritual practices.