A fertility cult is a type of nature worship that attempts to safeguard the fertility or productiveness of plants, animals, and people. Fertility cults usually focus on a certain deity, and followers believe that, by propitiating that god or goddess, fruitfulness will result.
Fertility cults were common in ancient pagan religions, where certain rites were performed at certain times to ensure fertility and avoid drought and barrenness. Common rituals included the sacrifice of animals—and sometimes humans—as well as shrine prostitution. Evidence of fertility cults have been found throughout the world, including in Egypt, the Americas, Europe, India, China, and the Middle East.
Earth/fertility cults often involved the veneration of goddesses associated with the earth’s productivity, human and animal reproduction, and the vitality of living things, though modern scholarship critiques the idea of a universal “fertile mother goddess” as an oversimplification rooted in 19th-century patriarchal interpretations. These views emphasized localized symbols of womanhood and agricultural abundance within male-dominated polytheistic systems, rather than a singular maternal entity mirroring female biology for all sustenance.
Many Neo-pagan and Wiccian groups practice fertility rituals, focusing on the union of the God and Goddess, particularly during Beltane (May 1st) and Imbolc (early February).
“Pro-Natal” Movements: While not traditional cults, some modern political or social movements heavily emphasize high reproduction rates to ensure national or cultural survival, which is interpreted by some observers as a form of modern “cult of fertility” focused on population growth.
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