1. Home
  2. Religion & Spirituality
  3. Alternative Religions

Alternative Religions Blog

From Jennifer Emick, for About.com

The Pentacle Hits the Fan

Tuesday April 24, 2007
It was inevitable that there would be negative reaction from some camps to the news that the Veteran's Admninistration finally did the right thing after ten years of stonewalling and decided to add the pentacle to the list of allowed religious symbols for military tombstones. Some of today's comments:

"The way we see it" calls the settlement a "minor victory for Satan," but implies they felt that way when every non-Christian emblem was approved.

The Edmonton Journal calls Wicca a 'cult.'

This blogger expresses disgust at the idea someone he is related to might end up buried next to a Wiccan- nevermind all those other five-pointed stars cluttering up military cemetaries.

Livejournal user drieuxster waxes hysterical about radical lefties, but even the lefties get their jabs in, referring to the victors as "High School Goths."

Another Liverjournal user posts the New York Post's nasty reponse.

The pagan reaction was overwhelmingly positive, and could be summed up as "about time!" Wiccans who eschew the pentacle and other pagans weren't necessarily pleased, though, and wondered if the Wiccan settlement came at a cost of their own ability to be recognized.

Comments

April 25, 2007 at 3:59 pm
(1) Lisa-Marie says:

I’m so happy! All pagans owe a huge thank you to the woman that so doggedly pursued this issue for her husband and their family. A victory for everyone!

April 25, 2007 at 5:03 pm
(2) Nick says:

I’d just like to clarify, Wonkette is a satire-ish rude site, and shouldn’t be included here.

As a Pagan who was once Wiccan, and can also spot fake news (and wonkette reader) I just thought I’d share.

April 25, 2007 at 7:17 pm
(3) Jennifer Rose Emick says:

Actuially, all of the links are to opinion pieces, why wouldn’t Wonkette be included, satire or not?

April 25, 2007 at 8:32 pm
(4) David says:

It is amazing that so many Christians are so disrepectful to so many people.
If they believed in ONE GOD, they would know that all roads do eventually lead to Rome.

April 25, 2007 at 8:34 pm
(5) Todd says:

Take a look at the medal of honor…there is something wrong when a hero gets a pentacle for a medal.
Not suprising though.

April 25, 2007 at 8:38 pm
(6) Todd says:

It’s too bad Christians are have been disrespectful from your perspective. You can’t please everyone though. The truth for me is all roads don’t lead to Rome but the road to Hell is wide and many will follow it. Some Christians will get very pumped up about spreading the truth and come off in a bad way. Jesus came for the sinners (which is everyone. By the way I find your analogy interesting….using Rome. That would be part of the Babalonian Empire…

April 25, 2007 at 11:34 pm
(7) deb says:

People need to educate themselves before the give an opinion. If the did, they would see that Wicca is an EARTH BASED RELIGION! We care about the EARTH and it’s well being!!! We do NOT believe in SATAN nor do we have anything to do with it/him!!!! Before you condemn, you need to know the facts.

April 26, 2007 at 4:29 am
(8) Joe Max says:

Um, the blog by “drieuxster” is a parody. The site has the “Operation Yellow Elephant” symbol on it, which is the giveaway.

April 26, 2007 at 4:32 am
(9) Joe Max says:

I’d just like to clarify, Wonkette is a satire-ish rude site, and shouldn’t be included here.

Meh. Getting made fun of by Wonkette is like getting parodied on the Daily Show. It’s kind of an honor.

April 26, 2007 at 8:26 am
(10) Jovon says:

It’s funny how quick some people are to pass judgment on other religions. To me, it just seems they are not that stable in their own. As to the comment in the article about the devil getting a minor victory, I can bet this person has no clue as to the first thing about the Wiccan religion. Wicca does not believe in Satan and all “his evil”. We are Earth lovers. We do not do any harm. I really think that before anyone passes judgement on the Wiccan relgion they should just delve into the first few pages of a Wiccan book. You will plainly see what we are about.

April 26, 2007 at 9:03 am
(11) A. says:

I am a Christian and I am glad Wiccans get to have pentacles on grave markers. They served fought and died for this country. We have a right to follow whatever belief system we wish in the U.S. people forget about that sometimes

April 26, 2007 at 10:54 am
(12) FoxWing says:

I am a Christian and I am glad Wiccans get to have pentacles on grave markers. They served fought and died for this country. We have a right to follow whatever belief system we wish in the U.S. people forget about that sometimes

That’s absolutely right! Whoever posted that comment is awesome, ’cause (s)he knows that the 1st Amendment right to religious freedom applies to all belief systems, not just Christianity. (S)he stood up for Pagan beliefs while holding true to his/her own, and that is a purely genuine act of decency, and that deserves some recognition. Kudos to you!

April 26, 2007 at 12:07 pm
(13) Patricia says:

It is very sad to see that people have learned very little in all this time. Pagans,Wiccans and other earth based belief systems do not judge others. I believe there is something in the Bible that states, judge not others lest you be judged. Its time all people learn to live together inspite of their differences. We could all learn from each other, instead of trying to destroy what you don’t understand.

April 26, 2007 at 1:57 pm
(14) Modemac says:

Boing Boing makes an observation about this development: http://www.boingboing.net/2007/04/25/when_will_subgenii_g.html

Essentially they ask, when will the Church of the SubGenius get its own military grave markers?

April 27, 2007 at 12:45 pm
(15) berrykat says:

I want to see a flying spagetti monster grave marker :)

May 29, 2007 at 12:13 pm
(16) Samantha says:

the fact that our 5 pointed star is not inverted does not seem to be noticed. when it is inverted then it is the sign of the devil. no one seems to realzie this. it angers me when people have to fight for their religion. Wicca is not a cult, it is a religion, a way of life, a belief. and Wiccan’s could also think that christianity (sp?) is a cult.

Leave a Comment

Line and paragraph breaks are automatic. Some HTML allowed: <a href="" title="">, <b>, <i>, <strike>

Explore Alternative Religions

More from About.com

  1. Home
  2. Religion & Spirituality
  3. Alternative Religions

©2008 About.com, a part of The New York Times Company.

All rights reserved.