Wiccan Veterans Want Equality

Christian veterans can get a cross engraved on a free military headstone. Muslims have their own symbol, as do Mormons, Buddhists, Sufis, Jews, and Hindus. One group thus far left out is Wicca. Wiccan veterans can't get a Wiccan symbol engraved on their headstone despite long efforts to change the rules.

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports:

It was officially recognized by the Defense Department as a religion in 1996, and has growing groups of followers in all military branches. But the National Cemetery Administration of the Veterans Affairs Department has yet to approve use of its symbol -- the stars-and-circle pentacle -- despite years of requests from Wiccan veterans.

Some complain that they have been stonewalled with letters that go unanswered, or endless responses that policies are "under revision."

"It seems like there's a bias. 'Discrimination' might be too strong a word, but it definitely seems like there might be a bias," said Stearns, 37, who met with state representatives of the American Civil Liberties Union over the weekend to discuss possible legal actions.

They will inscribe the word pentacle, but not the pentacle symbol itself. Why? They say that they are waiting for approval, but they have been waiting for a long time — longer than it has taken for other religious symbols to be approved. A more plausible explanation is the fact that the pentacle has long been associated with Satanism and evil, so there is likely fear that Christians will be upset at not just seeing pentacles in graveyards, but learning that the government is paying for them.

Of course, Christians caused this problem originally by using government money to engrave their own religious symbol on headstones. One they started, they can't very well say no to any other religions — including religions they don't like very much. Wiccans have the same civil rights as Jews, Hindus, and Christians and cannot justifiably be treated worse. We saw a similar problem when Wiccans wanted to be officially recognized as a religion by the military. Conservative Christians screamed bloody murder and more than one suggested that Christians boycott the military as a consequence of the decision to recognize Wicca.

The VA has cleverly refused to say "no" because that would lead to a legal fight. By simply putting off any final decision, they can pretend that the possibility of "yes" exists and not get sued. In an especially Kafka-esque move, they say that they are revising their policies and that Wiccans will have to reapply under the new ones, whenever they are in place. The practical effect of all this is exactly the same as a "no" — there are no pentacles on headstones, Christians aren't complaining, and Wiccans are accorded a second-class status on account of their religious beliefs.

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