This story is a few days old, but I just learned about it. I did several searches to find out if it had already been blogged about here, but did not find any other entries. Please let me know if this is a duplicate.
This article was originally published by the Washington Post, but as I was unable to find it at the Post website, I'm quoting here from
a re-publication in the Indianapolis Star:
WASHINGTON -- 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 Stewart.
More after the jump...
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.
It's not that the military doesn't recognize Wicca as a legitimate religion - it does. Soldiers (including Sgt. Stewart) can - and do - have Wicca listed as their religion on their dogtags, Wicca is listed in the Chaplain's guide, and Wiccans have won the right to hold services on military property. Yet once they have shed their blood and given their life for this country, they're denied the right to have a symbol of the faith they lived by on their graves.
The article notes that over the last nine years, repeated requests to have the Pentacle approved have been denied. During that time, symbols for 11 other religions were approved. Initially, the reasoning was because Wicca lacks a centralized leadership or headquarters, but that requirement was dropped last year.
Another article, initally from the Sacremento Bee, but cited here from the Myrtle Beach Sun, reports that:
Several organizations are supporting Stewart, including Americans United for Separation of Church and State. John Whitehead, a prominent constitutional lawyer, wrote on www.christianitytoday.com in June that "whatever one thinks about the Wiccan faith, there should be no doubt that the First Amendment provides for religious freedom for all individuals."
The Veterans Affairs Department issued a statement saying that a final determination on Stewart's application has not been made.
"VA has only deferred a decision on this application until the department completes its efforts to develop a uniform set of rules by which all applications can be considered," says the statement by Matt Burns, an agency spokesman.
While it's good that they're trying to come up with a uniform set of rules for all applications, that shouldn't slow the approval of this request. As noted above, the military already recognizes Wicca as a legitimate religion (as to the courts and the IRS), and virtually all Wiccans consider the Pentacle to be the primary symbol of the faith.
Sgt. Stewart's wife is continuing to battle the DVA on this issue, and has rejected their offer of placing a plaque with no religious symbol on it, out of concern that once the space reserved for him has been filled, they will no longer take her fight to get the Pentacle included seriously.
This is a man who gave his life for this country. This country should be willing to recognize his sacrifice the same way they recognize the sacrifice of others. To do otherwise is not only unconstitutional, its dishonourable and detestable.