But some religions are more equal than others

Alas the ongoing saga of the VA and their failure to recognize Wicca as a religion warranting a symbol on headstones has come to an unhappy (for the moment) conclusion. Or, as the WaPo headline puts it, “Fallen Soldier Gets a Bronze Star but No Pagan Star.” Sgt. Patrick D. Stewart’s memorial plaque at the
Veterans Memorial Cemtary in Fernley, Nevada, remains blank.  The VA has so far refused to allow a pentacle to be inscribed on it, and his widow has declined a memorial plaque without a symbol.

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. 

The “recognized” faiths with their own VA-approved symbols include, among others, Christian sects (“Aaronic Order Church,” “United Moravian Church”), Islam, Judaism, Sufism (“Reoriented”), Mormonism, Buddhism, Eckankar, Humanism, “Soka Gakkai International,” “Izumo Taishakyo Mission of Hawaii,” Konko-Kyo, Hindiusm, Bahai, Atheism, The Native American Church of North America, Sikh, and the Church of World Messianity (Izunome).

And Sgt. Stewart?

Stewart, 34, is believed to be the first Wiccan killed in combat. He was serving in the Nevada National Guard when the helicopter in which he was riding was shot down in Afghanistan last September. He previously had served in the Army in Korea and Operation Desert Storm. He was posthumously awarded a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star.

But, evidently, he belonged to the wrong religion to deserve a plaque with his faith of choice.

DoD spokesfolk either decline comment or express wonderment that it’s taken so long for the VA to approve this.  The chaplain of Stewart’s unit has supported the application, as has Nevada’s congressional delegation.  On the other hand, some local Nevadans are not amused.

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.

Because, of course, only “good” (most likely Christian) religions should be recognized as. well, real religions.

Feh.

(via J-Walk)