Not Unconstitutional – Just Plain Wrong

J.J. Jackson* | November 15, 2006

Widows fight pagan symbol ban on graves

Guardian Unlimited
The US army allows them to fight and die for their country - but not to display the symbol of their faith on the headstones marking where they lie.

That state of affairs could be about to change, however. Two widows of Wiccan combat veterans are taking the government to court demanding that the military add the pentacle to its list of 38 emblems authorised for use on gravestones.

The US department of veterans affairs (VA) recognises imagery associated with Christianity, Buddhism, Islam and Judaism, as well as smaller religions such as Sufism Reoriented, Eckankar and the Japanese faith Seicho-No-Ie. The Wiccan widows argue that the omission of their symbol is unconstitutional.

First, the “omission” of the symbol is not unconstitutional. If these widows were forced to put a symbol of another faith on the headstones THEN you would have a case since that would violate the constitutional prohibition on forcing people to worship a certain way “or else”. But the refusal of the military to put Wiccan symbols on head stones does not prevent the free expression of one’s faith. They are still able to say “I’m Wiccan!” and do their ceremonies and such.

That said however it is wrong. If the military has made accommodations to other religions then there is no reason to not do so for the Wiccan faith.

Persecution: How Liberals are Waging War Against Christians

(Book)

Authors:David Limbaugh
Manufacturer:Regnery Publishing, Inc.
Released:25 September, 2003

Rediscovering God in America: Reflections on the Role of Faith in Our Nation’s History and Future

(Book)

Authors:Newt Gingrich
Manufacturer:Integrity Publishers
Released:10 October, 2006

Contributor's website: http://www.libertyreborn.com

*Content posted by a user may not be completely written by that user. Content from another source is cited in either block quotes, with quotes or with a link to the original material. Content from other sites is posted for commentary and news purposes under fair use. Each user is responsible for their own postings and a particular posting should not be construed as being endorsed by this site or it's owner.