Next year's summer solstice at Stonehenge will be the first at which Druidry has been officially recognised as a religion.
Britain recognized Druidry, a neo-pagan belief system that believes nature is its supreme being, 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 religion, known for its worship 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.
The British commission noted that Druidry "is animistic and based on a belief that everything has a spiritual dimension." It also noted 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.(CNN)
4 Comments
ravermansays...Scientology has/had more legal standing in the UK than the druids? Thats f$cked up.
quantumushroomsays..."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.
By that definition, Buddhism is not a religion, because it has no god.
Now, for no reason at all, here's Twinkie Henge.
gwiz665says...Druidic druids drank dram at a the druidry dreminar.. I mean seminar.
vaire2ubesays...Still wrong, still going strong eh...
"The foundations of Buddhist tradition and practice are the Three Jewels: the Buddha, the Dharma (the teachings), and the Sangha (the community)."-wiki
Buddhists have belief. That you don't understand what they believe, or how they believe it, means nothing.
>> ^quantumushroom:
"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.
By that definition, Buddhism is not a religion, because it has no god.
Now, for no reason at all, here's Twinkie Henge.
Discuss...
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