The Legal Rights of Wiccans and Pagans, Part II

Home Worship
As the pagan community matures and expands, and its groups become involved in purchasing land, sponsoring festivals, and building spiritual retreats and centers, legal questions regarding zoning, religious institutions, and home worship become critical. The First Amendment protects the rights of individuals to worship in their homes, and the government may not interfere with the exercise of religious life except to protect safety or health.

A threat to the rights of any group is a threat to all.

Zoning restrictions, however, may be used to inhibit the practice of religion in one's home. A recent example occurred in Palm Bay, Fla., where The Church of Iron Oak, a Wiccan congregation affiliated with the Aquarian Tabernacle Church, fought a lengthy and costly battle to protect the rights of its members to engage in "home worship." A Palm Bay ordinance required churches in residential areas to obtain a special zoning permit and restricted worship to no more than five people. The church successfully argued that its legal offices were located elsewhere and that the home of the ministers, where sabbat (from the original Greek word "esbaton", meaning "a sacred or holy day") worship was held, did not meet the ordinance's legal definition of a church; that is, for a building to be a church, the practice of religion must be its primary use, whereas the home where the worship had occurred was used primarily as a residence.

An important aspect in winning this case was the support from other religious organizations--including Jewish, Unitarian, and Christian fundamentalist groups--whose First Amendment rights were also at risk. A positive relationship with the interfaith community can provide invaluable support in critical cases involving religious liberties, as even the most unlikely of religious allies understand that a threat to the rights of any group is a threat to all.

Child Custody
There have been numerous instances where religion has been made an issue in child custody cases. Thus far, the U.S. Supreme Court has chosen not to take any cases in this area, and state courts vary widely in their opinions. In a recent New York case, a husband sought to win custody of the couple's children by raising the wife's Wiccan religious beliefs as a concern. The judge refused to consider it in determining "the best interests of the child," the main criterion for deciding which parent should be granted custody.

Generally, most states consider religion in deciding custody only when specific religious beliefs or practices may impede a child's development in some definable way. Some states, such as New Hampshire, take the position that religion may never be addressed in a custody determination because it would improperly entangle the government, via the courts, in religious matters. Other states include religious beliefs as one among many considerations. Until the negative stereotypes about Witches and pagans change, this area may present legal challenges, depending upon the state in which the parties reside. Domestic law attorneys and their clients can receive legal support through pagan legal networks.

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