On Wed, 23 Feb 2000 14:57:25 -0600 (EST), "Jenny Brown (was Gable)"
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]> said:
>I'm Wiccan; it's somewhat organized, legally recognized, and varies
>from quite traditional to quite liberal.
I don't accept the tag "Wiccan" as defining anything. There are so
many types of "Wiccan" that I think the term itself is useless.
It's also not true that "Wiccan" is "legally recognized"; rather,
there are some Wiccan-like churches that have gained recognition in
some states (I know, or at least knew, the high priest of one such
church, in Lafayette, Indiana). However, gaining recognition in most
states is not difficult; all you have to do is get a proper charter
registered with the state, profess a religious belief, and prove to
the state that you maintain records of ordination that the state can
have access to upon request.
I would never be a member of any church which sought recognition with
the state as a church, except for a church whose sole reason for
existing is to obtain recognition from the state. IMO, the act of
seeking recognition imposes hierarchy and patriarchy onto the
organization simply because the state expects those things. There are
better ways to obtain legal recognition of marriages (and the other
state benefits of legal clergy) within your religious group, the
easiest being getting all your members ordained by an ordination mill.
Kelly
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[EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.linuxchix.org
