Symbols for the dead

Daily Herald

It seems only reasonable that when a U.S. veteran dies, the government should allow the family to place a religious symbol on the grave marker. It's a sign of respect for those who have given their last full measure of devotion to our country.

However, the chosen symbol must be found on the government's approved list. In the eyes of the Department of Veterans Affairs, not all religions are created equal.

Christians and Jews have nothing to worry about. There are 16 types of Christian crosses to choose from, along with an Angel Moroni for Mormons and a child with animals for members of the Community of Christ. Jews may use a Star of David to honor their deceased veterans. Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists and the new-age religion Eckankar also are represented among the 38 symbols of faith that can be legally displayed on military grave markers. Native American Church members, including the ones that use peyote, have a choice of symbol as well. Even atheists may have their non-belief represented through an icon that looks like an atom.

But Wiccans are out of luck. The government does not recognize the faith's pentagram symbol -- an upright five-pointed star within a circle -- for veteran's graves.

Wiccans regard themselves as pagans. Their religion, Wicca, is an earth-based belief system going back to the ancient Celts. They worship the earth's elements as represented by the five points of the pentagram: earth, air, fire, water and spirit. The pentagram is associated with life.

Unfortunately, adherents say, the faith has been misrepresented as being populated by witches who practice black arts. Their symbol, when inverted, is often linked to satanism. Mormons also use an inverted pentagram in their temple symbology. The pentagram was used in the Middle Ages as a symbol of the five wounds of Christ. Other meanings abound: pentagrams are found in many times and many cultures.

After nine yeas in bureaucratic channels, Wiccans are now heading to court to get their symbol on tombstones. A group of Wiccans from Nevada, Wisconsin, Utah and California are suing the VA to force it to recognize the pentagram.

Rather than fight a legal battle it can't win, the VA should immediately declare that any symbol of faith that is not patently obscene is permitted. The government should not belong in the business of deciding which religions deserve recognition on military tombstones and which do not.

In the past, the VA has blamed bureaucratic regulations requiring that a religion's central authority certify that a desired symbol in fact represents the faith. But to borrow military parlance, Wicca has no central command structure. The faith has no formal chief or presiding authority to certify the pentagram, even though Wiccans regularly use it.

Yet the certification rule has not stopped the government from approving two Muslim symbols, and Islam has no central authority, either. Atheism obviously has no structure or priesthood, yet the government sees fit to honor atheists with a symbol.

So what is the problem with Wicca?

The government's foot-dragging on the Wiccans' petition may be an attempt to avoid outrage from conservative Christians at putting a "heathen" religion at the same level as their own faith. But who knows? And who cares? The reason hardly matters. Limiting religion is simply not part of the government's mandate. The entire notion of "recognizing" a religious symbol is patently wrong from a First Amendment perspective, and it's an insult to the 1,800 Wiccans who are currently serving in the armed forces.

Bottom line: If the government permits any religious group to include its symbology on military grave markers, it must permit all religious symbols.

Oddly enough, the government allows Wiccan soldiers to list their faith on military dog tags and to conduct services on U.S. military bases; yet it refuses to permit them to display their religious symbol when they are buried with military honors.

The polilcy is outrageous.

Those who enlist in the military show a tremendous devotion to their country. They are willing to put their lives on the line to preserve the Constitution. At military funerals, the flag from the coffin is presented to the family as a token of gratitude from the nation for their loved one's service. Shouldn't that gratitude extend to allowing a family to place the religious symbol of their choice on a loved one's grave marker without having to jump through hoops or filing a lawsuit?

Abraham Lincoln said that when a man (and by extension a woman) wears the uniform of the U.S. military, it becomes impossible to deny full rights of citizenship. And that includes respect for religious beliefs.

The VA must drop its objections and let families decide what religious symbols will be displayed on the grave markers of their fallen loved ones.

This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page A6.