How We Are Organized

The Third Enlightenment Church is organized with deliberate concern for conscience, freedom, and restraint of authority.

We believe structure should exist to protect inquiry, not to dictate belief. History shows that when religious institutions accumulate unchecked authority, conscience weakens and faith becomes coercive.

For this reason, we have chosen an intentionally modest structure designed to preserve moral responsibility, honest inquiry, and mutual respect.

This page explains how we are organized and, just as importantly, what we refuse to become.

Conscience Comes First

Individual conscience is the highest moral authority within this fellowship.

No person, office, or council has the power to bind belief, interpret truth for others, or require assent to doctrine. Moral responsibility cannot be delegated, and faith cannot be imposed.

Each participant stands as a moral equal, responsible for their own understanding, judgment, and growth.

Where conscience is surrendered, freedom collapses.
This fellowship exists to prevent that surrender.

Shared Inquiry and Fellowship

We gather as a fellowship of equals.

Dialogue, disagreement, and careful questioning are welcomed. Faith is understood as a lived and ongoing responsibility, not a fixed set of conclusions delivered from above.

We expect participants to engage with care, listen with openness, and challenge ideas without attacking persons.

Agreement is not required.
Honesty is.

Facilitators, Not Clergy

Some members serve as facilitators.

Facilitators exist to support conversation, not to govern belief. Their responsibilities include organizing discussions, moderating dialogue, and ensuring participation remains fair, respectful, and open.

Facilitators do not teach doctrine, issue moral judgments, interpret belief for others, or speak with spiritual authority.

These roles are temporary, rotating, and recallable.
Their authority is procedural only.

Stewards of Shared Resources

Stewards care for the practical needs of the fellowship.

This includes managing digital spaces, events, archives, finances, and legal requirements. Stewardship is administrative rather than moral or theological.

Stewards have no authority over belief, conscience, or teaching.

Administration exists to support community, not to shape belief.

Influence Is Earned, Not Granted

Some voices will naturally shape the fellowship through clarity of thought, integrity of conduct, and care for others.

Influence arises from reasoning, example, and trust, not from title or office. No role carries permanent power, and no individual is elevated as a final authority.

Where influence hardens into authority, conscience weakens.
This structure exists to prevent that drift.

A Living Structure

This structure may evolve as the fellowship grows, but the commitment to individual conscience and restraint of authority exists to protect the community and cannot be altered lightly.

Any changes will be made openly and thoughtfully, with the goal of preserving freedom of conscience, honest inquiry, and moral seriousness.

We are not building a hierarchy.
We are protecting a space where faith can exist without coercion.