Welcome back! I am continuing to respond to the questions from ADF members directed to the candidates running for office.
Today's responses relate to the subject of our Reputation.
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| Image by Gerd Altmann (Creative Commons CC0) |
JA: How would you work to make ADF as respected and legitimate as any other church in the USA, and the world.
I see respect and legitimacy as two separate things.
Respect is something that we work together to earn. It is a collective response by the rest of the world that is the result of our actions. We need to understand that we are being judged by others not only by our individual actions, but also by those around us. How often have we heard (or even used) the phrase “not very Christian” to describe bad acts by a member of that religion? When the Catholics were struggling with their priest/altar boy scandals, other Christian churches felt the impact, as well. But those churches that were quick to respond and affirm that their own beliefs and actions were not aligned with the scandal? Those were the churches which weathered the best. They did not expect respect to find them, they actively sought it. I think that ADF is in a similar position – we are a part of the greater Pagan community, and any event which rocks that community will at the very least bump against us. By solidifying our positions of no tolerance and building strong foundations of consent and caring for those around us, we actively earn respect. By maintaining public presence – through our public high day rites and our presence at various non-ADF centric events, such as Pantheacon, Paganicon, and ConVocation, we create respect.
Legitimacy, however, I see as a matter of legal viability and longevity. We are a young religion when compared to Christianity, and Christianity is still considered to be young in some Hebrew or Islamic organizations. In this sense, I believe that legitimacy is not something we will achieve in our lifetimes, but rather, it is the legacy that we are striving to provide for future generations. The foundations that we are building now – the structure of the Core Order of Ritual, the study programs, the networking of groves and persons, the training of our clergy – are the things that will secure that inheritance.
