Law and the Church Course

2nd Circle of the CTP

As clergy within ADF, we need to be very aware of the laws of the land regarding clergy. The purpose of this course is to make the student familiar with the laws on a local, state, and national level. Over time and as more people have gone through this course, we will establish web pages on the clergy part of the ADF website listing all the laws that people have found.

This course will be different from the 1st Circle courses in that it is *entirely* a research course. There will be no resources listed, books to read or papers to turn in. What it will have in place of those are examples of what the student is looking for in each category.

Exit Standards:

1. List nine (9) laws, or as many as possible if less than nine, concerning clergy that you have found by searching your nearest municipality laws. By municipality, we mean on the village or town level. If there are none, then tell us how you found that out.

2. If there is a body of laws between the municipality laws and the state/provincial laws where you live, list nine (9) laws, or as many as possible if less than nine, concerning clergy, that you have found by searching this area.

3. List nine (9) laws concerning clergy that you have found by searching your state/provincial laws.

4. List nine (9) laws concerning clergy that you have found by searching your national laws.

5. How do laws of your nation, state, or local area respond to Paganism and Neo-Pagan clergy? Are there laws that prohibit certain functions our clergy usually serve (such as divination, counseling, or conducting marriages or funerals)? Does your country implicitly or explicitly state that Neo-Pagans cannot have clergy, or that they cannot perform certain functions or receive similar rights as those from other religions?

6. Looking at those laws listed in questions 1 – 4 and how they affect you, are there any specific laws that seem out of place, unfair, or unjust? What is the avenue for change to these laws, and do you see change to these particular laws as necessary?

7. How do you see these laws affecting how you serve your Grove, ADF, or the community as a whole?

8. What is the difference between pastoral counseling and other kinds of counseling, and does the law differentiate between these types? What sort of license do you require in your state in order to perform counseling of any type? Does divination fall into this sort of counseling?

Optional Exit Standards:

1. If you live near a major military base: “What are the rules regarding outside worship for the branch of the military that runs this base, and what happens if a soldier on that base wants access to a priest who is not in the military or not a military chaplain?”

2. What are the regulations and options for prison ministry in your county and state?