District Court Excerpts 


Page 596 617 Federal Supplement 


With the above principles in mind the Court thinks that the Church of Wicca is 
clearly a religion for first amendment purposes: Members of the Church sincerely 
adhere to a fairly complex set of doctrines relating to the spiritual aspects of their lives. 
and in doing so they have 
ultimate concerns" in much the same way as followers of 
more accepted religions. Their ceremonies and leader structure, their rather elaborate 
set of articulated doctrines, their belief in the concept of another world, and their broad 
concern for improving the quality of life for others gives them at least some facial 
similarity to other more widely recognized religions. While there are certainly aspects 
of Wiccan philosophy that may strike most people as strange or incomprehensible, the 
mere fact that a belief may be unusual does not strip it of Constitutional protection. 
Accordingly, the Court concludes that the Church of Wicca, of which the plaintiff 
a 
sincere follower, is a religion for the purpose of the free exercise clause.