Druidism has been recognized as a religion by the government of the United Kingdom. More specifically, the Druid Network organization has been recognized as legitimate and tax-exempt by The Charity Commission for England and Wales. Initial news accounts suggested a historical continuity of some kind between ancient religious practices and modern druid groups. The Charity Commission ruling doesn’t validate this preposterous claim, since brand-new faith groups may be ruled tax-exempt if they do not harm the public and conduct their financial affairs appropriately.
In the USA, several colleges have pagan chaplains, and military chaplains trained in other religions minister to troops of all faiths, including neo-pagans, and receive guidance on pagan religions. Among Distinctive Faith Groups recognized by the military are Pagan, Wiccan, Druid, Shaman, Dianic Wicca, Gardenarian Wicca and Seax Wicca. After a recent lawsuit threat, the government now allows headstones in veterans’ cemeteries to display the pagan pentacle symbol.
As far as we know, Delaware GOP senate candidate and witchcraft dabbler Christine O’Donnell has not commented on the Pentagon’s pagan recognition policy. Perhaps she favors “Don’t Ask, Don’t Spell.”
Image by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com
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Tags: Britain, charities, Christine O'Donnell, druidry, druids, England, neo-pagans, pagans, religion, UK, United Kingdom
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