Guardsman's name missing from memorial (wicca)

[NVMojo]

FERNLEY (AP) -- Nevada National Guard Sgt. Patrick Stewart gave his life for his country when the Chinook helicopter he was in was shot down in Afghanistan in September.

But those wishing to honor Stewart, who should have his name on the memorial wall at the Northern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Fernley, would have a difficult time.

The space reserved for Stewart is vacant. Stewart was a follower of the Wiccan religion, which is not recognized by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Stewart's widow, Roberta, said she'll wait until her family's religion -- and its five-pointed star enclosed in a circle, with one point facing skyward -- is recognized for use on memorials before Stewart's plaque is installed.

snip..

Roberta Stewart's 12-year-old daughter wrote a letter asking for approval for the symbol's use.

"Why won't you put my dad's religion sign on a plaque," Alexandria Maxwell-Stewart wrote to R. James Nicholson, secretary of Veterans Affairs, on Feb. 27. "He respected you and your rules and went and fought for our country and died for our country and this is how you treat him and his family."




more...

http://news.rgj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060313/NEWS10/603130335/1016/NEWS

[sui generis]

1. welcome to America's freedoms

your mileage will vary.

[Wetzelbill]

3. wow, that just made me so sad

you hit it perfectly.

[madaboutharry]

2. This is surprising to me since I recall

reading that Wicca is now recognized as a religion by the Army. I will try to find the source.

[Imagine My Surprise]

5. I am a follower of Wicca and I thought so, too

[WePurrsevere]

13. It was at least recognized by the Pentagon however Barr and a few others

have trying to get that changed. They don't consider it a "real" religion so therefore it's not don't ya kno'. :sarcasm:

Anyway... I know it's in the Army Chaplain's Manuel... there's a lot more info here:
http://www.milpagan.org/RC/documents_available.html

Anyway.. this should be a non-issue... Freedom of Religion means ALL and none. The US gov't and that includes the military can't just pick and choose which ones they approve of, there's no "except for...." in the 1st Amendment.

[Mythsaje]

4. I know someone who's working on this case...

This is a serious pisser.

[Imagine My Surprise]

6. Isn't this a slam dunk for the ACLU?

[wakeme2008]

7. here are the current symbols

http://www.cem.va.gov/hmemb.htm

[Teaser]

9. atheist symbol is lame

sorry to say. An atom with an "A" in the middle? Looks like something a superhero would wear.

[Frank Cannon]

It's a sad day when Eckankar has an accepted symbol...

and Wicca does not.

Here's hoping they can get a symbol of a volcano to represent Scientology, or maybe just an image of a meter hooked up to two orange juice cans.

And, of course, an image of the flying spaghetti monster. I'm sure we'll see that before we see a pentacle.

[Ian David]

18. The FSM won't get a symbol, but World Church of the Creator will

And if Mitt Romney gets his way, not only will World Church of the Creator get their VA symbol, they'll be protected by "religious exemption" from allowing black people to adopt children.

[Frank Cannon]

14. It's a sad day when Eckankar has an accepted symbol...

and Wicca does not.

Here's hoping they can get a symbol of a volcano to represent Scientology, or maybe just an image of a meter hooked up to two orange juice cans.

And, of course, an image of the flying spaghetti monster. I'm sure we'll see that before we see a pentacle.

[Teaser]

8. I thought this was being resolved

I remember seeing this story a week ago...

[kestrel91316]

10. But I thought King George himself declared that Wicca was not

"a real religion"............

I swear I saw a quote from him on this a few years ago.......

[LostinVA]

15. He did say something like that

[wicket]

19. Here's the quote from the idiot:

http://www.religioustolerance.org/wic_pres.htm

"I am committed to the First Amendment principles of religious freedom, tolerance, and diversity. Whether Mormon, Methodist, Jewish, or Muslim, Americans should be able to participate in their constitutional free exercise of religion. 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."

:grr:

[kestrel91316]

21. As I suspected. What an ass.

He has NO IDEA how many Wiccans there are out there, hiding in BROOM closets.

[bobthedrummer]

11. Golly, I thought the satanist Col. Michael Aquino had taken care of that

for those members of the US Armed Forces that desire to worship pagan gods. I do realize that there is a difference between druidic wicca and devil worship btw. Michael Aquino and his wife Lillith took over the former Church of Satan and formed the Temple of Set years ago.

Perhaps there is some new policy at the DoD.

This is the same Michael Aquino that had a lot of input into the DIA and percption management C4I warfare, fwiw. Also investigated in many cases of child abuse, like at The Presidio.

[HuffleClaw]

12. hmmmm, they recognize the eckankar cult but NOT wicca?

wow.

[noonwitch]

16. The Prison system recognizes Wicca-too many battles have been fought

And continue to be fought, but there is legal precedent now and the government does have to recognize it as a legitimate religion. Most of the battles were fought in the 60s for muslim inmates, but the rulings apply to all religion.

[Ian David]

17. RELIGIOUS IDENTIFIERS AT U.S. VETERANS' CEMETERIES

VA form 40-1330 states that certain optional items, which "may be inscribed at Government expense," may include "an authorized emblem reflective of one's belief." Section 11: "Desired Religious Emblem" gives the applicant five options:

No symbol.
1. Latin Cross - Christian; generic.
2. Wheel of Righteousness - Buddhist.
3. Star of David - Jewish.

Other: Shown on the back of the form are:

4. Presbyterian cross.
5. Russian Orthodox cross.
6. Lutheran cross.
7. Episcopal cross.
8. Flaming chalice: Unitarian Universalist.
9. United Methodist Church cross.
10. Aaronic Order Church.
11. Latter-day Saints: Angel Moroni with horn.
12. Native American Church of America: Teepee with three feathers.
13. Serbian Orthodox: cross.
14. Greek Cross: similar to the Red Cross.
15. Baha'i: 9 pointed star.
16. Atheist: A stylized symbol of an atom with the letter A in the center.
17. Islam: A crescent and star.
18. Hindu symbol.
19. Konko-Kyo faith.
20. Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (now called the Community of Christ: A child between a lion and lamb.
21. Sufism reoriented symbol.
22. Tenrikyo church symbol.
23. Seicho-no-ie symbol.
24. The Church of World Messianity symbol.
25. United Church of Religious Science symbol.
26. Christian Reformed Church: Cross and triangle.
27. United Moravian Church: Lamb carrying flag.
28. Eckankar: Stylized letters "EK"
29: Christian church - generic: A cup.
30: Christian & Missionary Alliance: a cross, chalice, crown and pitcher
31: United Church of Christ: a crown, cross and world symbol
32: Humanism: a stylized image of a human.
33: Presbyterian Church, USA: A flaming cross
34: Ixumo Taishakyo Mission of Hawaii: A hexagon surrounding a symbol
35: Soks Gakkai International - USA: A complex symbol
36: Sikh: The Khanda symbol; three swords and a rink

Listed separately because of copyright restrictions:
United Church of Christ.
Christian Science: cross and crown.
Islam: Five pointed star.

In 1991, the Graduate Center of the City University of New York conducted a massive study of over 50,000 adults across the U.S. to determine their religious identification. 2 They found that 76.5% of American Adults are Christian -- a reduction from 86.2 in 1990. Among the smaller non-Christian religious groups, ethical systems and theological systems are:

Agnostic: 991,000
Pagan: 140,000
Wiccan: 134,000
Spiritualist: 116,000
New Age: 68,000
Church of Scientology: 55,000
Humanist: 49,000
Deity: 49,000
Taoism: 40,000
Druid: 33,000
Santeria: 22,000
Rastafarian: 11,000
Ethical Culture: 4,000

None of the followers of these religious and spiritual faiths are given the privilege of having their faith represented on their tombstone. This is because their faith is not among the officially recognized belief systems for headstones and markers. Yet some faiths with very few followers are recognized by the VA.

A list of symbols is maintained by the VA at: http://www.cem.va.gov/

More:
http://www.religioustolerance.org/grav_mark.htm

[MrMonk]

20. Wiccan: 134,000; Aaronic Order: 1,000

Aaronic Order has an approved symbol. Apparently, the church was made up founded during WWII.

The Aaronic Order was founded in 1942 by Maurice L. Glendenning. A former member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Glendenning was excommunicated by the LDS Church because he claimed to have recieved revelations that, according to him, came from the angel Elias. In 1944 The Book of Elias was published. The Aaronic Order's membership is less than 1,000. In 1956, the church established a communal settlement called EskDale, Utah. Not all members live in the cooperative Eskdale endeavor. In 1978 the Levitical Writings were published. This book was a compilation of the Book of Elias, New Revelations, and the Disciple's Book.

http://www.answers.com/topic/aaronic-order