A Shout-out and wish for luck to the Scottish Pagans

It may not seem like much, but if the Pagan Federation in Scotland is successful in their to get a recount of how many people indicated they follow a Pagan faith in the 2000 Scottish census, they may be able to get official recognition of Paganism as a relgion from the Scottish government. This would be a major step from Pagans everywhere - though obviously for Pagans in Scotland, most of all.

Scotland's Pagan community is set to gain official status as a recognised religion after raising funds for a recount of the 2001 Scottish census.

Pagans were lumped into the 'other religion' category at the time of the original count. But they claim they have thousands of members in Scotland and that the faithful -- which includes witches, druids and healers, and is based around a connection with nature -- should have formal recognition within the Scottish landscape of religion. Their eventual aim is that the state should recognise weddings, funerals and other rites of passage within a Pagan context and that Pagans should be allowed to take holidays for events like the summer solstice without prejudice.

MSPs turned down their public petition to extract the data from the census at the Scottish parliament in February this year because of 'technical difficulties', but the Pagan Federation claim they are now almost ready to ask the Registrar General for a recount.

John Macintyre, spokesman for the Pagan Federation in Scotland, told the Sunday Herald that Paganism is the fastest-growing religion in Scotland and should be recognised at civic level.

While the change in status would obviously have no real effect for Pagans in the US, having a western nation recognize Paganism as a genuine religion, with all the attendant benefits thereof, helps increase Paganism's legitimacy, and that is important.

The article notes that the Pagan Federation estimates that 4,000 to 5,000 Pagans live in Scotland, "which would put us on a comparable level with Hindus or Sikhs in Scotland." Unofficial counts, however, have indicated that it may be even more than that - even as high as 10,000, with as much as "100% year-on-year" growth. They estimate that there are roughly 108,000 Witches (a sub-set - or denomination - of Paganism) in the UK as a whole, with as many as 225,000 Pagans overall.

While I would never want to see the US start recognizing "official religions" the way that other countries do - not just because it would be a horrible violation of the anti-establishment clause, but also because it would quickly become politicized. The one drawback, however, of not having "official religions" is that there is little to no consistency in how ordinations are viewed legally.

For many Pagan churches, groves, covens, kindreds, hearth or other groups, there is no "governing body" that can set standards for or grant ordinations. The Priest or Priestess of the group is chosen by the group members, and serves at the pleasure of the God(s)/ess(es) that the group honours and worships. This works well on a spiritual level, but legally, it's a bit dodgy.

Some Priest/esses end up going through the Universal Life Church, which offers "instant ordinations" that are supposed to be legally acceptable in all states, but which are often viewed suspiciously (since there are no actual qualifications - you go to a website, fill out a form, and - congrats! - you're a minister), and, in some states, can't be used for things such a presiding over a wedding or a funeral.

Initially, I had gone this route, but have since renounced my ULC ordination. For one thing, spiritually, it just didn't feel right. While I do believe that Thor has called me to serve Him as a Priestess, I know there are still many things He wants me to learn before I am qualified to take that title. In addition, since I am disabled, I have been effectively rendered a solitary (for non-Pagans reading this, a solitary is a Pagan who does not belong to any coven, kindred, hearth, grove, church or other group), so there wouldn't be much I could do with an ordination at this point, anyway.

The good news is that I've seen several national Pagan groups start to try and develop clergy programs that would help by being able to offer standards for credentialing and ordination. I hope that more of this will continue, so that Pagans will be able to provide the same kind of services to their congregations that ministers of other faiths offer to theirs. Until then, many Pagans end up having to do things like have a spiritual marriage ceremony led by their Priest/ess as well as a civil ceremony performed by a Justice of the Peace in order to make their marriage legally binding.

This is one place where having countries like Scotland officially recognize Paganism can also help American Pagans. As our faith is recognized as legitimate in more places around the world, it becomes harder for American authorities to deny that it is a true faith path, to which followers are as sincerely devoted as those who follow more mainstream paths.

I would just like to take a moment to offer my best wishes to the Pagan Federation of Scotland and all Scottish Pagans in this endeavour. I hope that your efforts are successful, and I am truly happy that you have this opportunity - not just for what it might mean to Pagans here in the states, but just because I know its important to you!

God(s)/ess(es) bless!

Posted by thorswitch at July 6, 2003 10:03 AM | TrackBack