Discussion Zone: => General Chat => Topic started by: kinjo on October 03, 2010, 08:17:14 AM
Title: Britain recognizes Druidry as religion for first time
Post by: kinjo on October 03, 2010, 08:17:14 AM
Britain recognizes Druidry as religion for first time, gives it charitable status
Quote
Britain recognized Druidry, an ancient belief that worships deities that take different forms in nature, as a religion for the first time and gave it charitable status on Saturday.
"There is a sufficient belief in a supreme being or entity to constitute a religion for the purposes of charity law," declared the Charity Commission for England and Wales in response to the Druid Network's application.
The decision will give the neo-pagan religion, known for its cloaked worshippers at Stonehenge (above, in 1999) and other sites, tax advantages and is expected to lead to broader acceptance.
"This has been a long hard struggle taking over five years to complete," said the Druid Network, which is based in England, in a statement on its website.
In some ways, Druidry in Britain is catching up to Druids and other neo-pagans in the United States, which already provides tax-exempt status for religious groups, said Marty Laubach, Associate Professor of Sociology at Marshall University.
The British commission noted that Druidry "is animistic and based on a belief that everything has a spiritual dimension." It also said that the religion recognizes deities within nature and conducts worship ceremonies.
The Druid Network, which has about 350 members, sought charitable status for "the advancement of religion for public benefit and no other purpose," the commission said in its ruling.
Druidry has no asserted dogma, the network said in its application. It added that members associate their gods with the moon, fertility, rain, love and other forces.
Druids were members of the learned class among ancient Celts, acting as priests, judges and teachers. They performed human and animal sacrifices and worshiped in forests in western Europe, Britain and Ireland.
Neo-pagan groups are growing in the United States, the 2008 American Religious Identification Survey found.
Such groups include Druids and Wiccans, along with voodoo and other belief systems, Laubach said.
"It's a quintessentially American religion in that it is a highly individualistic religion," Laubach said of neo-paganism.
Marshall, in Huntington, West Virginia, allows students to miss classes to observe pagan and other religious holidays.
Neo-pagans seek to communicate with spirits, but witchcraft is not Satanic because its believers don't recognize the Satan of Christianity, Judaism or Islam, Laubach said.
Many people look at Satanic worshippers and neo-pagans "as a bunch of people dancing in the forest" without realizing the distinction, said Douglas E. Cowan, Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada.
"We often tend to be demonized," said Laubach, a member of the neo-pagan movement, indicating Britain's decision is a "form of legitimacy."
Neo-pagans tend to be sensitive to the environment, with many rituals held outside, said Cowan and Laubach.
"They realize we are part of a living system," said Cowan.
"There is a huge festival movement," Laubach added. "The earth is the mother that supports us."
Britain's Druid Network says public misconceptions about some of its practices persist.
"While sacrifice is a core notion within most spiritual traditions, within Druidry it is confused by historical accounts of the killing of both human and animal victims," the network said in its application to the British commission. "No such practice is deemed acceptable within modern Druidry."
"What is sacrificed within the tradition today," the application says, "is that which we value most highly in life and hold to with most passion: time, security, certainty, comfort, convenience, ignorance and the like."
Modern pagans may not be as restrictive on issues such as sex as other religions "but [their] groups evolve social controls," Cowan said.
"You've got people bringing their kids to events," he said.
Cowan said it's not clear if the growth of Druidry - which he calls nowhere near as influential as the rapid growth of Christian Pentacostalism and Islam - is the rekindling or reinvention of the faith.
Regardless, Druids in Britain, unlike their North American counterparts, don't feel as marginalized by mainstream Christianity, he said.
"They have done the most to bridge the gap between Christian and non-Christian groups in Britain," Cowan said.
For the first time tkoold's religion is now official! I always wanted to visit stonehenge but not to worship.. I don't know much about the neo-pagan religion. So what do you guys think?
Title: Re: Britain recognizes Druidry as religion for first time
Post by: Flashwerewolf on October 03, 2010, 09:50:44 PM
NOICE, glad the druidic groups get some spotlight.
Title: Re: Britain recognizes Druidry as religion for first time
Post by: bloo-apple on October 03, 2010, 10:41:59 PM
You post such long topics :(
Title: Re: Britain recognizes Druidry as religion for first time
Post by: Flashwerewolf on October 03, 2010, 11:24:30 PM
also, WHERES THE SOURCE!!
Title: Re: Britain recognizes Druidry as religion for first time
Post by: kinjo on October 04, 2010, 07:47:30 AM
complain! complain!
*spanks both of you*
Title: Re: Britain recognizes Druidry as religion for first time
Post by: Adelaide on October 04, 2010, 03:07:25 PM
I want a source too >:[
Title: Re: Britain recognizes Druidry as religion for first time
Post by: kinjo on October 04, 2010, 05:24:26 PM
Title: Re: Britain recognizes Druidry as religion for first time
Post by: Adelaide on October 04, 2010, 09:40:54 PM
C: thanks kinjo
This is pretty cool, religious tolerance and recognition is always nice
Title: Re: Britain recognizes Druidry as religion for first time
Post by: Flashwerewolf on October 04, 2010, 11:38:11 PM
not to mention the information that will become available!!
Title: Re: Britain recognizes Druidry as religion for first time
Post by: Adelaide on October 05, 2010, 02:01:14 AM
Yish~! :D Maybe clear up some misconceptions about druidss
Title: Re: Britain recognizes Druidry as religion for first time
Post by: Flashwerewolf on October 05, 2010, 04:10:18 AM
meebee, I havnt gotten to my folder of Druidic texts yet, so I dunno what to expect till I read em all.
Title: Re: Britain recognizes Druidry as religion for first time
Post by: kinjo on October 05, 2010, 07:05:52 AM
i am curious to know more, but don't they do sacrifices?
Title: Re: Britain recognizes Druidry as religion for first time
Post by: Flashwerewolf on October 05, 2010, 08:35:45 AM
possibly, tho I dunno for sure, they are very earth and life oriented, tho theres probably sects that do sacrifice. TONS of religious groups sacrifice things, its very common.
Title: Re: Britain recognizes Druidry as religion for first time
Post by: kinjo on October 05, 2010, 02:48:08 PM
sacrifices are stupid, unless it's with vegetables!
DIE VEGETABLES!!
Title: Re: Britain recognizes Druidry as religion for first time
Post by: Adelaide on October 05, 2010, 11:11:20 PM
Sacrifices are stupid to people who dont understand them
Title: Re: Britain recognizes Druidry as religion for first time
Post by: kinjo on October 06, 2010, 06:19:34 AM
does this mean you do sacrifices?
Title: Re: Britain recognizes Druidry as religion for first time
Post by: Flashwerewolf on October 06, 2010, 09:42:31 AM
she sacrifices cupcakes to the bunny gods!!
Title: Re: Britain recognizes Druidry as religion for first time
Post by: Adelaide on October 06, 2010, 05:47:24 PM
C: yeah they quite enjoy carrot cupcakes with cream cheese frosting
Title: Re: Britain recognizes Druidry as religion for first time
Post by: kinjo on October 06, 2010, 07:27:20 PM
evil addy!!!!!!!!!! poor cupcakes
Title: Re: Britain recognizes Druidry as religion for first time
Post by: Adelaide on October 07, 2010, 03:24:45 PM
>:[ THEY WAANT TO BE SACRIFICED TO THEIR GODS~! ITS HONORABLE~!
Title: Re: Britain recognizes Druidry as religion for first time
Post by: kinjo on October 07, 2010, 07:25:44 PM
sacrificed in my BELLY!
Title: Re: Britain recognizes Druidry as religion for first time
Post by: Adelaide on October 11, 2010, 04:14:04 PM
C: no to the bunny gods' bellies
Title: Re: Britain recognizes Druidry as religion for first time
Post by: kinjo on October 12, 2010, 06:08:36 AM
i just saw clash of the titans remake, reminded me of this topic
boring movie
Title: Re: Britain recognizes Druidry as religion for first time
Post by: Flashwerewolf on October 13, 2010, 06:51:23 PM
the original was amazin! Never bothered to see the remake, cause well yeah.
Title: Re: Britain recognizes Druidry as religion for first time
Post by: kinjo on October 14, 2010, 08:03:43 AM
i want to see the original, sadly i got rid of netflix to save
i will when i get more $$
i saw the preview of it, looks very classic
Title: Re: Britain recognizes Druidry as religion for first time
Post by: bloo-apple on November 11, 2010, 05:45:29 PM
i've got a funny feeling about that
Title: Re: Britain recognizes Druidry as religion for first time
Post by: Flashwerewolf on November 11, 2010, 06:53:20 PM