Pentacle on headstones

The_Minister

This might be of interest to some here on this forum.
http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/04/23/wiccan.grave.ap/index.html

Suaimhneach

I was emailed this story too.
Dont the americans recognise Wicca as a reiligion?
I dont find this too suprising, though fairly progressive, considering.

Nevyn

They do but then again in america it has become to paganism which is daft
rather then the initatory fertily cult.

Suaimhneach

I dont fully get what you mean Thaed... can you explain. *feels slightly slow today*

Talliesin

Jesjes wrote:

Dont the americans recognise Wicca as a reiligion?

Like Ireland, America is a Republic and doesn't recognise or not recognise any religion.

Various organisations which have may have to deal with someone's religion or with a religious organisation will have their own rules for doing so. While the US military has long allowed for Wiccan and other Pagan witch groups to perform rites on military bases, and as far as dog-tags, access to a chaplin and other matters where the religion of a soldier has a some relevance, the headstones are not dealt with by the military, but by the Veteran's Association.

The VA has a list of approved emblems primarily for practical reasons - headstones are not cheap to have made, and working from a set number of templates keeps it affordable along with giving a degree of uniformity (every Christian grave will have the same cross, every Jewish grave the same Star of David, and so on).

Normally the VA approve a new symbol in a matter of weeks, but this was not the case with the pentacle. It has been suggested that the fact that the VA is rather badly in need of more Federal funding than it currently receives, and that the current US President is known to be bigotted against Wiccans may have led the VA to have a certain degree of reluctance to approve the pentagram as a symbol.

Nevyn

There is a difference as to what the word wicca means in america, it's meaning is different then it is in europe.

The defination in american has drifted into common useage to mean pagan electic witchcraft;
where as the original meaning which is still used in europe is
the fertiltiy cult started by Gerald Gardener and is a mystery religion with a
lineaged priesthood with a list of traditions who all trace back to the New Forest Coven.

Suaimhneach

I follow, on both accounts. Thanks for being informative, as ever.