Symbolic

Yet another indication of the — well, I won’t say trouble, but I will say complications — you get into when the government interacts with religion.

As a veteran, the VA will provide you with a tombstone, within certain regulations as to content. Part of what can show up on the headstone are various religious symbols. Some 32 symbols are available, everything from an array of Christian denominations to symbols for members of the Native American Church of Amercia, Hinduism, the Tenrikyo Church, Sufism Reoriented, Ekankar, Baha’i, Buddhism, Unitarians, various others, and even a symbol for avowed Atheists (an “A” within an Atom, if you’re curious).

The full list with examples can be seen on the official VA form.

The complication is, of course, that once you start recognizing some symbols, it’s difficult for the government to justify not recognizing more, including ones that some folks would have fits over, such as the Wiccan pentagram.

The VA has responded to requests for such markers with, well, stonewalling via “We’re putting together new regulations to cover just that sort of thing” letters for several years. Hence an online petition, supported by a Yahoo group, which seeks to get the VA to recognize the pentagram as a legitimate symbol (just as the US military’s chaplaincy recognizes Wicca as a legitimate religion).

Of course, having the government “recognize” which religions are “legitimate” is also fraught with peril, but that’s the part of the ongoing tension between religion and the state. Something to consider.

(via Rey)