So, let me get this straight:At the Veterans Memorial Cemetery in the small town of Fernley, Nev., there is a wall of brass plaques for local heroes. But one space is blank. There is no memorial for Sgt. Patrick D. Stewart.
That's because Stewart was a Wiccan, and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has refused to allow a symbol of the Wicca religion -- a five-pointed star within a circle, called a pentacle -- to be inscribed on U.S. military memorials or grave markers.
The department has approved the symbols of 38 other faiths; about half of are versions of the Christian cross. It also allows the Jewish Star of David, the Muslim crescent, the Buddhist wheel, the Mormon angel, the nine-pointed star of Bahai and something that looks like an atomic symbol for atheists.
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Wicca is one of the fastest-growing faiths in the country. Its adherents have increased almost 17-fold from 8,000 in 1990 to 134,000 in 2001, according to the American Religious Identification Survey. The Pentagon says that more than 1,800 Wiccans are on active duty in the armed forces.
Wiccans still suffer, however, from the misconception that they are devil worshipers. Some Wiccans call themselves witches, pagans or neopagans. Most of their rituals revolve around the cycles of nature, such as equinoxes and phases of the moon. Wiccans often pick and choose among religious traditions, blending belief in reincarnation and feminine gods with ritual dancing, chanting and herbal medicine.
Federal courts have recognized Wicca as a religion since 1986. Prisons across the country treat it as a legitimate faith, as do the Internal Revenue Service and the U.S. military, which allows Wiccan ceremonies on its bases.
"My husband's dog tags said 'Wiccan' on them," Stewart noted.
But applications from Wiccan groups and individuals to VA for use of the pentacle on grave markers have been pending for nine years, during which time the symbols of 11 other faiths have been approved.
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But letters printed by Nevada newspapers indicate how much hostility Wiccans face. "I don't see how anything that supports witchcraft and satanism can legitimately be called a religion," one reader wrote to the Reno Gazette-Journal.
This random symbol
is acceptable, but this one
is not.That seems a little arbitrary to me. I mean, I might not get Scientology, but to the extent that it's considered a religion, it should be treated as any other religion. Wicca is no different.
And, hey, if the IRS grants you tax exempt status, well, then you've passed the biggest hurdle.
Just for the record, I am neither a Wiccan (although I do have some books on witchcraft) nor an atheist (although I have some of those tendencies, too).
Update: Here's an interesting story about an 18th Century Virginia witch.
7 comments:
When I die, can I just get a question mark on my grave?
I wonder how many atheists actually serve in the Armed forces. My guess not many. Justin I'm guessing you have no plans to enlist so you can have what ever you want on your head stone. I think my symbol will be $.
And just how does this official stance jive with the separation of church and state? Seems to me if I want an engraving of me flipping everyone the finger, then hell, I'm dead - grant me that one wish.
Guess I won't be getting buried in a military cemetery. I don't think they'll allow the symbol for vous deux, er voodoo, either.
I'm not sure there is separation of church and state. It's a lofty ideal, but poorly implemented. But if most religious symbols -- even those of minority religions -- are permitted, then it's not appropriate or fair to exclude others, since that's what's meant by "Freedom of Religion". It's gotta be all or nothing.
And I agree that if it's your memorial, you should get the last say.
Thanks for the post in support of Stewart, that's real sweet.
Earlier tonight I read the Military.com message boards connected to the story they ran in support of Stewart. I had thought that they might not agree with the site, but they almost all did, with like the exception of 2 or 3. But even the evangicals were like, he died for his country, how dare the VA treat him like this?!
And then they got off track talking about whether wiccans really dance around in the nude, and what would happen if they did, and how many forest creatures would drop dead in fright. They were very funny. So it was nice to read.
That American Atheists logo is a train wreck; I, whom you might call an atheist, want nothing to do with the American Atheists organization. I very much hope they aren't, as a policy, using it to denote all atheists. (And don't go guessing about atheists in the armed forces. Either you have the numbers in hand or you don't.)
Refusing to include a pentacle is absurd. These people have to get out of the dark ages.
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