There's Good News...

The pentacle has been approved for use as a military emblem of belief.

This is a follow-up to my post for the "Blog Against Theocracy" blogswarm. I had used the Veteran's Pentacle fight as an example of oppression of a minority religion such as would occur in a theocracy. It's a minor form of oppression, especially as compared to... oh say, the Inquisition, but it's still telling us that ours is not a valid religion.

Well, demonstrating that we haven't gotten saddled with the The Republic of Gilead yet, the VA has finally approved the pentacle as an emblem of belief. This means that deceased Wiccan military personnel can now have pentacles placed on their gravestones in military or private cemeteries. It's about time. Now, I have to wonder, are the Asatru going to try to get Thor's hammer approved by the VA?

Freedom of Religion Means Any Religion

As a member of a minority religion, I am very concerned about the Religious Right and their efforts to turn the USA into a Christian Nation. While I've seen claims that atheists are the most hated minority in the country, the fact of the matter is that Pagans/Witches aren't far behind. Indeed, in some cases, they have it worse. The Lady Liberty League is an advocacy group for Pagan civil rights. One of their ongoing projects is aimed at getting the Federal Government to allow a pentacle to be place on the head stones of fallen Wiccan soldiers. As things currently stand, the list of available Emblems of Belief includes a symbol for Atheists (entry 16), but not for Pagans.

Many Christians still equate witchcraft with Satanism, and do not understand that the two really have no connection. Then again, the more extreme forms of Christianity are apt to view any belief system that isn't theirs as Satanic, sometimes even when it's another Christian denomination. For example, some of Jack T. Chick's toxic little tracts are anti-Catholic. In fact, many of the worst religious conflicts have been between different sects of what are nominally the same faith, e.g. the Inquisition in the Fourteenth Century, or the Shi'ites vs. the Sunnis in modern Iraq. I think it's safe to say that if any religious group whether Christian, Muslim or other manages to actually take over the USA, they'll turn on each other after they've dealt with everyone else. Heck, they might%