Pagan Group Continues Battle For Tax Exemption For Property

Today's New York Times reports on the long legal battle in which a pagan religious group in the Catskill Mountains is seeking a tax exemption for its Phrygianum (religious convent). At issue is a former inn (Central House) that was the fictional home of Rip Van Winkle. It has been turned into the global headquarters and convent house for Maetreum of Cybele, Magna Mater. The group's leader describes the group as goddess oriented and gay and lesbian friendly. She says: "We're witchy. We're set up for communal living for priestesses." The tax dispute is not over whether the group is religious, but over whether the use of the house is directly connected to its religious purpose. The town argues that its use is primarily residential and only secondarily religious.