Britain extends formal charity status to Druids
Giving a "form of legitimacy" to Druidry, Britain has recognized the practice as worthy of charitable status - meaning it has met the tests for what constitutes a religion.
"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 ... 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.
Druidry and various strains of neo-paganism have been long misunderstood and conflated, says Druid Network founder Emma Restall Orr, but ...
"The Charity Commission now has a much greater understanding of Pagan, animist and polytheist religions, so other groups from these minority religions — provided they meet the financial and public benefit criteria for registration as charities — should find registering a much shorter process than the pioneering one we have been through."
Ah the druids, ancestors of so many Celtic Christians. Below is a verse from the song "Giant" by Canadian folk singer Stan Rogers. The song is about a Druid legend at the Bras D'Or Lakes, Cape Breton Island, Eastern Nova Scotia. The huge lake is surrounded by Highland Scots' settlements with names like Glenco and Skye Glen. Eat your heart out Rowan Williams!
“‘Twas the same ancient fever in the Isles of the Blest
That our fathers brought with them when they went west
It’s the blood of the druids that never will rest
The giant will rise with the moon.”
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October 3, 2010 5:17 PM