Sunday Sermonette: Religious freedom

The separation of church and state isn't just about freedom from religion, it's also about the safeguarding the integrity of religions. When religions seize state power, the first victims are usually other religions.

Missouri is considering legislation recognizing Christianity as the state's "official majority religion":

The resolution would recognize "a Christian god," and it would not protect minority religions, but "protect the majority's right to express their religious beliefs.

The resolution also recognizes that, "a greater power exists," and only Christianity receives what the resolution calls, "justified recognition." [KMOV.com]

Elsewhere in the freethinking blogosphere, Revere discusses another sad case of religious discrimination, this time against a deceased decorated U.S. veteran who was also a Wiccan:

On Sunday many people visit cemeteries to pay their respects to departed loved ones. Me, I don't care much about where or how my non-functioning remains are disposed of. Mrs. R. has told me in no uncertain terms that my desire to be cremated and have the ashes put in the garbage or flushed down the crapper are a non-starter for her and my kids agree. Since I won't exist anymore, I can't complain too much. I just have to trust they won't desecrate my posthumous disposal site with symbols of some odious superstition. No such problems for Sgt. Patrick Stewart...

Stewart died when his helicopter was shot down in Afghanistan. His appointed place on the Northern Nevada Veterans Memorial cemetery remains blank because the Department of Veteran's Affairs won't let Stewart's widow include a pentangle, the symbol of Stewart's Wiccan creed.

The Department of Veterans Affairs does not authorize pagan symbols in its cemetaries. Their stance is at odds with that of the military itself where Wiccans and other pagans serve openly. (Cf. the entry on Wicca in the US Army Chaplain's Handbook.) According to the Military Pagan Network's website, pagans in the US military can serve as chaplains and officially-recognized lay leaders. The military's top chaplains at Fort Hood army base acknowledged Wicca a "legitimate religion" as early as 1996 and began offering space for Wiccan rituals at the base as early as 1998. Fort Hood's decision to allow Wiccan service members and their families to worship openly on base sent U.S. Rep. Bob Barr (R-Ga) into high dudgeon. He even issued a press release called Causes Of Youth Violence Found In Adult Culture in which he implied that Wicca and humanism were spawning youth violence.

When asked about the Wicca in the military issue during the 2000 presidential race, George W. Bush said:

"I am committed to the First Amendment principles of religious freedom, tolerance, and diversity. Whether Mormon, Methodist, Jewish, or Muslim, Americans should be able to participate in their constitutional free exercise of religion. I do not think witchcraft is a religion, and I do not think it is in any way appropriate for the U.S. military to promote it."

Comments

[m]

Mr Bush is half right. It is not appropriate for the military or any branch of our government to promote Wiccan beliefs. But then it is not appropriate for our government to promoted any spiritual beliefs of any kind, only accept that it citizens may choose to believe or not believe. For the Department of Veterans Affairs to refuse the symbol of this soldier's beliefs is to deny much more than Wicca, but the rights of man and our Constitution as well.

Some spiritual beliefs are not more equal than others.

[Lindsay Beyerstein]

I agree, M. The military shouldn't be promoting any religions. However, the military quite rightly supports a lot of different religions, including Wicca by providing pastoral care and giving military personnel the opportunity to practice their preferred rituals.

[ghostcatbce]

I can imagine the outrage that would erupt, if a pilot from the infamous AFA, were denied having a symbol of his/her religion placed on his/her memorial stone. Oh the horror, the horror! Bob Barr would have another world class hissy fit. James Dobson, Pat Roberts, and, no doubt, Rush Limbaugh, would unleash a wave of condemnation of biblical proportions. Why the senate and the president would be forced to intervene to prevent such an "injustice".
But be a member of non-Christian faith?
A resounding silence.

[squashed]

actually the first victim of state religion is whatever the religion itself.

A state must drain it's mystical/personal function of that religion and codified the religious expression in legalistic manner.

for eg. what constitute 'christianity', how to define the ritual, etc etc. (otherwise, any schmo can create a church and profit out of it)

then the public sphere aspect of that religion itself will be expanded to personal sphere. (eg. what food, entertainment, personal relationships constitute 'christian/un-christian')

so we are really back at the beginning of modernity, where I have to agree at that point, religion is the bane of all evil and suffering in the world.

I for one still think, somebody should create a databse to permanently deconstruct religious dogma, and ends this silliness as a whole for once.

The next born again dry drunk becoming a president, it'll be global thermonuclear for real.

[squashed]

incidentally, I wish some expert could address this.

Is all this 'religious' wingnutery a big part of baby boomer social phase? eg. time when majority of them suddenly start thinking. ..wait a minute, I can't just keep chasing money/work/family.... I am gonna die soon. what does it all mean? will Jesus throws me into the flaming pit? I got enough money, now what?

if indeed that is the case, than it's time for mass therapy. (The blog expertise. drawing public with intricate theory)

[Rasputin]

A lot of the clergy that I have spoken to are really afraid that the unreligious right wingnuts will do nothing but spawn a backlash which in the long run will destroy religions.

With Bush its been like Nixon revisited... same shit different year, but with this religious wingnuts its like same shit different century. Can we look forward to a repeat of the religious wars of the 17th century?

"The religious persecution that drove settlers from Europe to the British North American colonies sprang from the conviction, held by Protestants and Catholics alike, that uniformity of religion must exist in any given society. This conviction rested on the belief that there was one true religion and that it was the duty of the civil authorities to impose it, forcibly if necessary, in the interest of saving the souls of all citizens. Nonconformists could expect no mercy and might be executed as heretics. The dominance of the concept, denounced by Roger Williams as "inforced uniformity of religion," meant majority religious groups who controlled political power punished dissenters in their midst. In some areas Catholics persecuted Protestants, in others Protestants persecuted Catholics, and in still others Catholics and Protestants persecuted wayward coreligionists. Although England renounced religious persecution in 1689, it persisted on the European continent. Religious persecution, as observers in every century have commented, is often bloody and implacable and is remembered and resented for generations."

http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/religion/rel01.html

[Dabodius]

The last I heard, Germany recognized Scientology first and last as a business, denying it the legal protections due a religion. That strikes me as the right call, no less so when the Scientologists responded with some unspeakably inappropriate comparisons. Although Wicca as we know it is not much older than Scientology, its bona fides as a religion are indubitable: it attempts a connection with the sacred. Surely the courts would agree its practioners should be accorded the same respect as other religions'.

[rob helpychalk]

The main thing that that separates Wicca from scientiology, and makes Wicca look like an honest religion to me, is the very thing that makes it easier to discriminate against Wiccans: the lack of a centralized power structure that accumulates money, lawyers, and salesmen pushing lame books.

[Lemon]

..somebody should tell that Bush boy, born again evangelism is not a religion either.

(I wonder how long till I actually piss off enough and start getting a wiki and organize an actual systematic way to deconstruct the harmfull elements of religion.)

[Bill Kaminsky]

Well, maybe this anti-pagan prejudice is as it should be. After all, it's not like there's any historical examples of pagans being great warriors. Oh... wait...

[gordo]

On one hand, Bush says that he doesn't think that "witchcraft" should be promoted. On the other hand, he says that things like faith-based intitiatives, Ten Commandments displays, school prayer groups, and singing Christmas Carols in schools isn't promoting Christianity.

I think that it's clear from the evidence that he and other Evangelicals DO think that they are promoting Christianity. It's incredibly disingenuous for them to claim that this isn't their intention, while not allowing Wiccan symbolism at something as personal as a memorial for a fallen soldier, on grounds that it would be promoting that belief system.

[squashed]

Posted by: Bill Kaminsky | March 05, 2006 at 09:36 PM

they those puny romans and greeks, such little pests.

btw, this is an interesting article. countring a lot of what I know tho. that bit sucks. (that 'believe' could be an evolutionary advantage and probably built in in our hardware. tho' to what degree is still in question. the experiment itself is pretty interesting. It's a payola article, I paste the entire abstract. It's a regular bookstore magazine, not a heavy duty journal.)

http://www.americanscientist.org/template/AssetDetail/assetid/49627

Although many psychologists have studied evolution's imprint on the human mind, scant attention has been given to one particularly remarkable human trait—our widespread belief in the supernatural. Could a belief in a deity or an afterlife be evolutionarily advantageous? Or are these beliefs a by-product of our ability to reason about the minds of others? The author and his colleagues have studied children to determine at what age they will believe that a spirit is trying to send them a message, or assert that a deceased agent (i.e., in the "afterlife") has attributes such as anger or thirst. The author argues that, despite the social quagmire surrounding all things religious, the rigorous study of supernatural beliefs by psychological science can be important for a complete understanding of human cognitive development.

[Just One Thing]

Properly speaking, _witchcraft_ is not a religion but a set of techniques that can often be found within any religion, and that is often regarded by the official religion as "illegitimate", or at least suspicious. Witchcraft is a practice.

Wicca, however, is a religion founded in the 1950s by Gerald Gardner, which attempted to ground purportedly ancient principles within the context of modern occultism (particularly Golden Dawn and Ordo Templi Orientis rituals). The extent to which modern Wicca recapitulates pagan principles is debatable, but there is no doubt it is a religious practice.

[chris]

Whether Mormon, Methodist, Jewish, or Muslim, Americans should be able to participate in their constitutional free exercise of religiion. And if you're not a monotheist, you apparently don't have a religion, so there. Never mind Wiccans, what about Native Americans with traditional beliefs?

[Tom Renbarger]

I bet Rep. Sater has no trouble naming the five members of The Simpsons family, though.

[1984 Was Not a Shopping List]

Gordo, disingenuous is exactly the right word. The military, of course, is uncomfortable with thinking outside of the box, but given time, if Wicca sticks around a while longer (though they trace their pedigree, of course, to pre-Christian times), they'll probably come around. The guy's dead, for Christ's sake--if it doesn't hurt anybody (another good Wiccan creed, An it Harm None, Do What Thou Wilt), respect his wishes. As for W, please pay no more attention to him than you would a spammer who comes on here saying, "great site! and by the way, check mine out for skincare products!", or any other salesperson. I also agree with Squashed here:

actually the first victim of state religion is whatever the religion itself.

A state must drain it's mystical/personal function of that religion and codified the religious expression in legalistic manner.

[1984 Was Not a Shopping List]

Wicca, however, is a religion founded in the 1950s by Gerald Gardner, which attempted to ground purportedly ancient principles within the context of modern occultism (particularly Golden Dawn and Ordo Templi Orientis rituals).

Aah, sweet convergence. The Golden Dawn. Funny--all these secrets, just hidden in plain sight. Perhaps a blank headstone is appropriate after all. Rest in Peace Profound, Sergeant Stewart--rest in Gray. You're in good company.

[Alon Levy]

Missouri is considering legislation recognizing Christianity as the state's "official majority religion":

Is there any chance the Supreme Court, even in its current composition, will not strike that down as a paradigm violation of the First Amendment?

Is all this 'religious' wingnutery a big part of baby boomer social phase? eg. time when majority of them suddenly start thinking. ..wait a minute, I can't just keep chasing money/work/family.... I am gonna die soon. what does it all mean? will Jesus throws me into the flaming pit? I got enough money, now what?

I don't think it is. The modern Religious Right dates back to the 70s, when many people turned to social conservatism as a reaction against the 60s. It's just that for 15 years, the fundamentalists didn't achieve anything, except an ineffective grassroots movement that politicians safely ignored. That changes in the late 80s or early 90s, when a) the movement became strong enough to be a political force, b) Republican politicians started using Dominionism as muscle against liberal institutions such as the academia, c) the newly-created Dominionist movement embraced all forms of fundamentalism instead of being divided against itself, and d) the Christian Coalition diverted efforts from small-scale boycotts and Evangelical Bible study groups to political action.

By the way, Lindsay, your comments section is thoroughly screwed up. First, for some reason the comments come out centered instead of aligned left; second, for yet another reason the comment field seems never to remember my personal info even though I do check the box.

[Tom Renbarger]

I'm having a hard time deconvolving the religious wingnuttery from the political grandstanding. See also Roy Moore.

[chris]

First, for some reason the comments come out centered instead of aligned left;

Oh, is that a bug? I thought it was a feature.

[Hawise]

"that 'believe' could be an evolutionary advantage and probably built in in our hardware. tho' to what degree is still in question. the experiment itself is pretty interesting."

Yes, squashed it can be an evolutionary advantage. Anything that makes us look out of ourselves creates a survival advantage. We look and see that we are not alone and at first we see our family. We connect and have to learn to share with them. We then see our extended family, our neighbours, our community and eventually larger and larger communities. Each level adds to our ability to thrive and survive. Spiritual thought helps us to try and connect to those others outside our cave. When we do it right we learn how to domesticate animals, plant crops and build enduring structures- when we do it wrong we learn how to steal animals, burn crops and destroy housing. We are only as good as our ability to see a bigger picture.

[Stephen Benson]

"When religions seize state power, the first victims are usually other religions."

amen. they just can't seem to help themselves. the athenians were among the first to grasp that free exercise of religeon was good business. the romans caught on also. while they had state religion and expected their system to be observed they were also commmercial realists that understood if they were going to trade with people of differing beliefs that those differing beliefs needed to be tolerated and allowed free expression. the romans could allow the self-flagellations of the isis cults, they did, however, draw the line at human sacrifice. caesar in his "commentaries on gaul" lays out clearly his policy with the druids. he was not there to upset or throw down any accepted orders. he did, however, insist that they cease burning people alive in wicker cages, or splitting the spine of a captive to do their divination from death throes. i am with jefferson on this one "it makes no difference if my neighbor believes in one god or fifty gods, it niether picks my pocket, nor breaks my leg." missouri has this one wrong, wrong, wrong. the courts will, i hope, put a stop to this madness along with the proposed christian take over of south carolina. i do take heart that so far, they are only trying to do this in places i have zero interest in ever returning to or going in the first place.

[greensmile]

Oh goody, Bob Barr, another biggot to watch out for.

Humanism is one of the few things that can lay bridges between the sects, its contribution is exactly the opposite of what Barr contends.

[JohnN]

As a Christian, all this Christian idiocy makes me very sad. The comments are correct that say the first casualty of a state-sponsored religion is either that religion or someone else’s religion. As a Christian, I do not want the school teaching Christianity - it is almost inevitable that they will shrink the religion of its spiritual and transcendent dimensions and reduce it to “being good” or, even worse “being a good citizen of America.”

The Missouri resolution is flat out insane and should be (and may well be) opposed by mainstream Christian groups.

As for Wicca - I don’t think it is a religion - but that is my religious opinion. Viewed from a civic perspective, it probably passes the test and should be accommodated like any other. In any case it hardly harms my Christianity if someone else wants to be Wiccan.

[Bill]

Are you ready to separate church and state? Try this little number on for size. The Bible is a proved hoax. Only 42 million Americans know that at this time. Make it 42,000,001.

http://www.hoax-buster.org has the proof.