The Nation : Rhode Island Accepts Coven as Church

A coven of witches has won tax exempt status in Rhode Island as a legitimate religious group. “With this ruling, we witches will definitely be able to come out of the closet and take our place in society,” said the coven’s high priestess, Joyce Siegrist, also known as Lady Genevieve. Tax Administrator R. Gary Clark said he overturned the state’s initial ruling that the Rosegate Coven did not qualify for a sales tax exemption, because it proved on appeal that it met the guidelines for legitimate church groups as set out by a 1986 Rhode Island Supreme Court ruling. The coven, also known as Our Lady of the Roses Wiccan Church, has 30 to 40 members and meets about three times a month for rituals, Siegrist said. The core of the Wiccan worship is belief in a deity with male and female attributes, whose psychic energy can be tapped. Under state laws, a religion must be a nonprofit group, not set up to avoid taxes. It must have a litany or system of prayer, and specific doctrines and practices.