Wiccans have long been identified with social movements
Wiccans claim to be the most LGBTQ friendly religion.[/tweetit] Alberta, Canada’s Congregationalist Wiccan Assembly members have long participated in interfaith events held at Pride for the last four years, but this year they’re stepping it up a notch. Now they plan to march during the main parade in stunning costumes themed from The Wizard of Oz. The Edmonton Pride Parade will be held on June 9.
Wiccans Will March in Edmonton Pride[/tweetthis]
Keegan Quinton, the high priest of Stony Creek Temple, said “Our community is so different than the typical church environment. A lot of people have come to our religion because they have felt like they don’t have a safe place because of how they identify.”
Members from diverse backgrounds make up Alberta's Stony Creek Temple, including feminist Wiccans, Norse Pagans, traditional Wiccans, and indigenous spiritual practitioners. Wiccans say it is the right time to participate in Pride as the religion itself has members from a range of backgrounds.
The Wiccans will not stop at one event when it comes to showing their support to the LGBTQ community. They will perform their first open circle at Pride, which is a change of season ritual.
Quinton himself is gay. He claimed that Wicca assisted him to discover and embrace a healthy masculinity. Quinton said he was extremely unbalanced as he was unsure about his sexual orientation and how he identified with it. Wicca has helped him to discover his other feminine side. It has made him a more balanced individual.
Wiccans have long been identified with social movements. The religion first made its presence known during the 1950s in the United Kingdom. Its members were social activists from the start. Practitioners from non-traditional relationships and naturalist communities in the LGBTQ community have discovered solace in the Wiccan philosophy.