Explain why public, inclusive ritual is important to ADF.

Public Ritual while important for ADF is important for the entirety of any local Pagan community for a variety of reasons. The main reason is to create a semblance of normality of pagan practice in any given community. Removing the social stigmas behind Paganism should be a top priority for any larger Pagan organization and will help benefit the community in greater ways than first perceived. This will help those who may not feel comfortable expressing who they are in a public sense feel more intone with themselves and their place in that community. This obviously has a plethora of benefits by adding diversity and stronger connections to the entirety of the community and can create a plethora of benefits for years to come.

ADF also benefits from holding regularly scheduled public rituals by adding legitimacy to the organization and give outside community members the opportunity to show respect and learn about the larger community around them. While this also provides the local Pagan community with the opportunity to express themselves in what would be expected to be a safe space for them and their ideals.

Also of course the need for ADF to provide inclusive public rituals is noted specifically in Article 1, Section 2 of the ADF Constitution:

“Since one of the primary duties of the ancient Druids was to lead their tribes in magical and religious activities, ADF advocates and practices, as an integral part of our faith, open, inclusionary, and public ceremonies to worship the Earth Mother and the Old Gods and Goddesses, rites of passage to mark the cycles of our lives, and magical rituals to accomplish our other goals in an honest and ethical manner (“ADF Constitution”).