Old(er)-Time Religion

BY: Sheri Baker-Rickman, Staff Writer, Sun Publications, Overland Park, Kansas

"J.C.Ventimiglia/Sun photo. WICCANS pass a cauldron used during a healing ritual. Sophia Anila, Olathe, holds the cauldron while observed, clockwise, by Cassandra Carpenter, Kansas City-North; Jason and Mari Alflen, Liberty, Mo., and a Gardner resident who says she is known as Walidah.

After a rocket-propelled grenade struck Army Sgt.Patrick Dana Stewart's helicopter Sept. 25, 2005, in Afghanistan, his widow, Roberta, faced religious prejudice.

Roberta applied to have the symbol of her husband's faith placed on his grave marker in Nevada, but the Department of Veterans Affairs refused. The VA does not recognize Stewart's religion, Wicca, often called witchcraft.

Grave marker symbols for atheists, humanists, Muslims, Hindus, Serbian Orthodox, United Moravian, Eckankar, United Church of Religious Science and various Christian faiths are allowed by the VA. But the pentagram n a five-pointed star inside a circle representing Pagans n is not one of 38 VA-approved symbols of belief.

Stewart received a pentagram Dec. 2 on his grave marker, found on the Wall of Heroes at Northern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Fernley. He received the marker because the cemetery is state-owned and Nevada Gov. Kenny Guinn intervened on Stewart's behalf.

The VA continues to deny relatives of other veterans a pentagram. They receive grave markers with no faith symbol.

Cheryl Locke, a Pagan for 20 years, blamed President George W. Bush for Pagans being denied military grave markers.

“The current administration has issues,” Locke, Kansas City, Mo., said.

A comment by Bush during the 2000 election fuels Locke's belief.

“I do not think witchcraft is a religion and I do not think it is in any way appropriate for the U.S. military to promote it,” Bush said.

Executive Pastor Jeremiah Johnston of First Family Church in Overland Park agreed with Bush that Wicca should not be recognized.

“We live in an age where almost every cult wants to hijack the word 'church' and parlay themselves into an acceptable religion,” Johnston said. “The history of the pentacle has been connected with occultic ramifications. Obviously, some who embrace Paganism disassociate from that reference. The position of First Family Church is that religion apart from Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior is devoid.”

Despite disagreement from some churches and Bush, the Army recognizes Wicca. The Army's handbook for chaplains explains the faith's practices.

“I helped revise the section on Wicca in the Army chaplain handbook,” the Rev. Selena Fox, who officiated at Stewart's memorial ceremony, said. “The Department of Defense will allow soldiers to have the pentacle on their dog tags and Wicca ceremonies on military installations, that's no problem. But the VA won't allow people to have the symbol of their faith on a grave marker.”

Fox is a Wiccan priestess and founder of Circle Sanctuary, an international nonprofit organization and church providing information and networking for Pagans.

“I have seen firsthand how this denial has caused tremendous stress,” Fox said. “To lose a husband, son or daughter, you have to deal with the loss, but to also face a lack of religious freedom � that complicates the grief.”

Circle Sanctuary is one litigant in the fight to add the pentagram to the list of military grave markers.

“After repeated attempts to get the VA to correct this long-standing inequity, we have taken this to federal courts,” Fox said.

Regarding the symbol, the VA issued a statement to The Sun that approval of new symbols has been deferred until new rules are published.

Since the fight for the pentagram began, the VA has approved several grave symbols, including for the Christian and Missionary Alliance; the United Church of Christ; the Humanist “Emblem of Spirit”; the Presbyterian Church; the Izumo Taishakyo Mission of Hawaii; the Soka Gakkai; and the Sikh.

“Approval of the Sikh symbol was expedited because a Sikh soldier died,” Fox said. “There are Pagan Iraq War veterans, some from the Korean War, and a number of others waiting for a symbol on their headstone.”

Americans United for Separation of Church and State represents Circle Sanctuary; Karen DePolito, whose husband, Korean War veteran Jerome Birnbaum, died last year; and Isis Invicta Military Mission.

“Americans United filed this lawsuit because we believe the Department of Veterans Affairs is engaging in religious discrimination by refusing to recognize the Wiccan pentagram,” Americans United Executive Director Barry W. Lynn said. “The families of Wiccan soldiers who die in service to their country deserve to have their religion recognized alongside other faiths. It's a simple matter of justice, decency and fair play.”

Jenny Singer, born Jewish but now a Pagan living in Florida, said people of her faith face discrimination often. In a custody battle in Clay County, Mo., Singer said her ex-husband tried to use Wicca to label her an unfit parent.

“(My children's) father and their stepmother have done everything in their power to make my children believe that my religious beliefs are wrong,” Singer said. “I never imagined that I would have to take the witness stand in a courtroom to defend my right to religious freedom. That experience changed everything I thought I knew about the Constitution and the rights I had previously taken for granted.”

Singer said losing custody of her children happened because of her faith, though the judge stated Wicca is not harmful.

Sophia Anila, Olathe, a Wiccan for six years, said ignorance causes prejudice against the faith.

“So many, unfortunately, don't know about Wicca and assume we are devil worshippers,” Anila said. “It is something they don't know so they are scared and they don't want to see it in public.”

Anila, who leads the Wise Women Society, said Christians are afraid to see the pentagram inscribed permanently on anything, especially a grave marker.

Previously a fundamentalist Christian for 24 years, Anila decided to study religions and that led to Wicca.

“Do some research on your own,” she said. “Education prevents ignorance.”

Anila said recognition of the pentagram should happen but may take time.

“Change for the U.S. government isn't easy,” she said. “If people start to work up a great amount of attention to this issue, something that is broken can be fixed. This is broken and it needs to be fixed.”