Witch?

Apparently Chester Cathedral has cast out the "heretical" Unitarian Church and banned its ministers and members from holding their annual service - the high point of their General Assembly - there.

The decision by the Dean and Chapter, which consists of laity as well as clergy, has caused dismay among Unitarians. One said: "In the entrance to Chester Cathedral there are signs saying 'welcome' in 26 languages. A Unitarian could be forgiven for doubting their sincerity."

I don't know about you, but I'd never heard of the Unitarian Church which, according to the Times, was founded in the 17th century, has no creed and rejects the doctrine of the Trinity and the divinity of Christ.

Which all sounded pretty sensible to me, so I thought I'd find out more. I ended up at Hampstead Unitarians who say their religion is a spiritual journey and each one of us is an explorer. Reason is our map and conscience is our compass.

Our Chapel seeks to provide a loving community in which to explore, question and celebrate the meaning and value of life, without creed or dogma.

Apparently all sorts attend their services, including athiests and humanists! More to the point, these harmless heretics helpfully include on their website a Beliefomatic test to find out if you share their beliefs.

It's quite good fun even, I suspect, for "those of no faith". Anyway my top ten was:

Neo-Pagan (100%)
Reform Judaism (92%)
Sikhism (85%)
Unitarian (80%)
Liberal Quakers (80%)
New Age (80%)
Scientology (73%)
Mahayana Buddhism (70%)
New Thought (69%)
Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants (65%)

So, I'm a total witch (or a wizard) which will come as no surprise to some. I found it quite a relief that at the bottom of my league table came Jehovah's Witness at 14 per cent, though slightly disconcerting to discover I'm more of a Scientologist than C of E!