Statement of Values

OSC Statement of Values

What We Believe

  1. We believe in diversity and inclusion. We respect the right of all peoples to study and practice Druidry.  This includes people who are often excluded or marginalized in other religions and spiritual systems including women and LGBTQ+ folks.
  2. We believe in pluralism – the belief that various types of groups can coexist. Within OSC, this includes our dedication to allow for coed groves, single-gender groves, and groves that provide for the needs of both diverse and specific groups and demographics of Druids.
  3. We believe in religious freedom. We respect all religions and spiritual systems that promote love, understanding, and higher spiritual ideals. We reserve the right to speak out against religions and spiritual systems that promote hate, division, and self-righteousness.
  4. We believe that Druids and Pagans should take an interest in the environment and climate change, but it is not our role to tell members how or to what extent.
  5. We believe that Druidry encompasses the beliefs and practices of the ancient Druids and Druidesses; the beliefs and practices of revivalist Druids, and the beliefs and practices of modern neo-Pagan Druids.
  6. We believe that the concept of Druidry should only be applied to those who have historically called themselves Druids. While they may have had similar and parallel beliefs and practices, the spiritual leaders of the Norse, Romans, Greeks, and other cultures were not Druids.  They had their own names and titles for their religious and spiritual practices.

  7. We believe that modern Druids can be eclectic and draw from various cultures, religions, spiritual paths, and pantheons within their private practices, but as a Druid organization our focus should be on Druid practices and pantheons (for clarification refer to item #5).

What We Don't Believe

  1. We don’t believe in religious or spiritual fundamentalism (i.e. strict, literal interpretations of spiritual texts) or spiritual snobbery – whether within Druidry, Paganism, or mainstream religions.
  2. We don’t believe in censorship. We don’t ban books we don’t like or try to discourage people from reading texts we don’t like.  If there is a controversial book or author, we encourage you to read it and make an informed and reasoned choice of your own about its merits.
  3. While many Pagan paths make a big deal about the topic of “polarity” and “male-female” magick and energies, our focus is on trinary logic and trinary energies. The Druid symbol, “Awen”, is made of male, female, and neutral/androgenous energies.  Many other Druid symbols and concepts focus on groups of three.  Talk of polarity and “male-female” magick often excludes or marginalizes LGBTQ folks and non-binary individuals.
  4.