Religious conflicts - Wicca/Witchcraft
Part 2 of 2: Wiccans & military preparedness:
An analysis of a historical fundamentalist
Christian attack on Wicca.
Concerns over Pacifism:
Wiccans who wish to join the armed forces must come to terms with their main rule of
behavior: the
Wiccan Rede "An ye harm none, do what ye will." (in modern
English, "do whatever you wish, as long as it does not harm anybody
including yourself"). Picking up an assault rifle, charging an enemy
position. and trying to kill everyone there certainly does harm to others!
However, Wiccans are not unique in this problem. All but a very few religions
teach an ethic of reciprocity that prohibits harming
or killing others. In Christianity, this is called the Golden Rule. A few examples of the ethic are:
 |
Baha'i: "And
if thine eyes be turned towards justice, choose thou for thy neighbour
that which thou choosest for thyself."
|
|
Christianity: "Therefore all things whatsoever ye would
that men should do to you, do ye even so to them." (From the King James Version, Matthew 7:12)
|
|
Buddhism: "Hurt not
others in ways that you yourself would find hurtful."
|
|
Islam: "Not one of you is a believer until he loves for his
brother what he loves for himself."
|
|
Judaism & Christianity: "...thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself."
|
|
Native American Spirituality: "Respect for all life is the foundation."
|
Followers of all of these religions who wish to enter the army must decide
how to handle their faith's teaching to not harm others. In fact, Christians
have an additional hurdle not shared by Wiccans: the sixth of the Ten
Commandments. Exodus 20:13 specifically says "Thou shalt not kill."
(KJV) Most individuals come to terms with their faith by citing
self-defense and protecting one's country as considerations which override
their religion's teachings. Others simply avoid joining the armed forces.
During times of warfare, many Quakers (members of the Society of
Friends) and others have became conscientious objectors. One might assume that all applicants to the armed forces have come to terms
with this religious conflict. Wiccans in no way differ from followers of other
religions on this matter. Pacifism within Wicca should not be a special concern to the army. His references to Isaac Bonewits and the faith group Arn Draiocht Fein (ADF) are
not particularly meaningful, because Bonewits is a Druid. Druidism is a
different religion from Wicca.
Sponsored link.
Concerns over ethical relativism:Maginnis quotes The Covenant of the Goddess as saying
"[W]hat is good for one may be evil for another and
vice versa." 3
This, of course, is merely a
reflection of ethical diversity within of American society. Some people believe
that wives should be submissive to their husbands and that equal power sharing
in marriage is forbidden; others believe the opposite. Some believe that an
early abortion is the least unethical action for a woman in some circumstances; others
believe that all abortions involve the murder of a human being, no matter what the gestational age of the embryo or fetus; still others believe that an fetus becomes a person late in pregnancy. This list goes on
endlessly.
He quotes the Circle Sanctuary's web site that says:
"Witches have no specific taboos against speaking
any
particular words, consensual sexual acts among individuals capable of rational consent, or breaking laws they know to be unjust." 4
This statement is generally true:
|
Wiccans have no
reserved words that must not be spoken, like the name of G-d in Judaism. But Wicca is no different from Christianity in this respect; neither faith
have reserved words.
|
|
Wiccans do not generally object to safe, consensual sexual acts between mature people,
particularly if they are done within a committed, dedicated, monogamous relationship. They
typically condemn sexual activity between individuals that are unsafe or where manipulation, coercion, force,
or undue influence are involved. But religious liberals, many religious
moderates, and the laws in most of North America also agree with this belief.
|
|
Rarely,
Wiccans will knowingly break laws that they know to be unjust or
unconstitutional. For example, some Wiccans held a demonstration in North Carolina against an
obviously unconstitutional state law which prohibits reading of palms, use
of tarot cards, casting runes, etc - whether for money, done as an amateur, or
even when done alone in the privacy of one's home. Quiet protest against unethical laws is an
established American practice for those brave souls who are willing to accept the
consequences. Faced with a constitution that guarantees personal religious
freedom and a state law that restricts that freedom, some Wiccans will
willingly break the unjust law in order to be charged and have a court rule that the law is
unconstitutional and unenforcable.
|
Concerns over Wiccan magical practices:
Magic is definitely part of some Wiccans' religious practice:
|
Most Wiccans do cast spells. But they are normally prohibited unless they
are done with the prior consent of the recipient of the spell. And they are never
done if the spell is manipulative, coercive or may harm anyone. Love spells
which are designed to influence a person to fall in love with another
individual are
not allowed. Spells are not much different from a Christian's
blessing and prayer.
|
|
Some forms of sex magic involve actual sexual activities. These are
occasionally performed by some Wiccans. However, the ritual is done in
private by a
couple who are married or in a committed relationship.
|
|
Some witches "believe that the dead join the
Blessed Ancestors, who watch over, protect and advise their descendants." 3 This is very similar to some Christians who pray for
support and guidance from dead saints.
|
|
There is no "basic Wiccan dedication ritual" as stated in
Maginnis' paper. Different
Wiccan traditions have various rituals for dedication and initiation. There
is probably a very large number in existence because many are unique to a Wiccan coven and some to an individual Wiccan.
|
Concerns over Military Readiness: Maginnis cites a number of concerns about the adverse effect that Wiccans would
have over military readiness. None of them seem to be valid:
|
Wiccans are "noted for their ethical relativism." This is
common among all Neopagans, religious liberals and religious moderates. It
results in a person carefully considering their decisions. This could be an advantage in
today's armed forces.
|
|
Wiccans approve of consensual acts by persons of minority sexual
orientation. This is certainly true for most Wiccans, although we are unaware of any surveys
that would confirm that. This was also the policy of the DOD during the time that they followed their "don't ask, don't tell" (DADT) guidelines. It is also policy now that DADT has been discontinued and service members can be open about their sexual orientation and gender identity. Thus,
all soldiers are required to support this policy.
|
|
Wiccans in the armed forces are not pacifists. If they were pacifists
then, like most Quakers, they never would have joined the army. Wiccans in
the army have come to terms with the Wiccan Rede, just as the majority
Christians have come to terms with their Golden Rule and 10 commandments.
|
|
All that Wiccans have asked for is to be allowed to practice their
religion like service members who are Christians, Jews and Muslims. They do not ask for special religious facilities; they do not ask for professional
chaplains. In fact, if the majority of soldiers were Wiccans, the armed
forces' task of providing for the spiritual need of its soldiers would be
significantly simplified. There would be no need for chaplains and
supporting facilities. All Wiccans ask for is access to existing rooms
and permission to hold their rituals on the base.
|
|
It is true that many English versions of the Bible refer to "witchcraft as an abomination." Eating cheeseburgers, eating shrimp, wearing shirts made of
polyester-cotton blends, etc. are also abominations, according to the Bible.
But the Bible's original Hebrew and Greek do not mention Wicca. As noted above, the
words mistranslated as "Witch" and "Witchcraft"
in many English translations of the Bible are totally unrelated to Wiccans and Wicca.
|
|
Many conservative Christians believe that the Bible is inerrant. The New
Testament contains passages that imply that the Gods and Goddesses of
non-Judeo-Christians are really Satan or his demons. Since conservative
Christian soldiers have to accept what they regard as Satan worshipers among Hindus, Muslims, etc. in
their midst, there should be no difficulty for them to accept Wiccans.
|
|
The Army has stated that Wiccans do not represent a discipline problem or
adversely affect military readiness. |
For many decades, the armed forces have made major contributions towards
diminishing internal hatred, bigotry and intolerance within the country. Society has benefited
greatly from these policies. Decades ago, they racially integrated the military.
Over the past decade, they have greatly reduced sexism in the military by
allowing women to accept an increasing range of combat positions. More recently they
have accepted persons with minority sexual orientations. And now, they are accepting transgender persons and transsexuals. The result is an armed forces that fully reflects the
diversity of American culture. This will become increasingly important in the
future, as military roles evolve.
Sponsored link:
This webmaster's comments [possible bias alert]:
Lt. Col. Robert L. Maginnis' paper contained a number of positive items that
are infrequently found in Christian essays:
|
He capitalized references to Wicca and Wiccans. This is a small item, but
an encouraging one. Although most writers capitalize the names of religions
and their followers (e.g. Christianity, Christian) out of respect, many
Christian web sites do not capitalize the names of Neopagan religions.
|
|
He mentioned bisexuality as a sexual orientation. Most
conservative Christian web sites basically recognize only one sexual
orientation: heterosexuality. Homosexuality is usually described as an addiction or
a deviate behavior, rather than as an orientation. Bisexuality is rarely mentioned
at all.
|
|
Perhaps the main encouraging sign in Maginnis' paper is that he consulted
some Neopagan sources to find descriptions of Wiccan beliefs and practices. He
describes Wicca fairly accurately. He does not describe Wiccans as evil people,
murderers who barbeque babies for breakfast, abortion providers who consider
abortion to be a religious ritual, etc. as so many other
Christian web sites have done, particularly in the early years of the Internet. For decades, conservative Christians have written
books, given lectures, and (recently) created web sites attacking Wiccans as
profoundly evil people. They have based almost all of their writings, directly or
indirectly, on Christian propaganda from the 15th to 18th centuries. These
were the burning times when the church was actively exterminating Witches who it
regarded to be heretics. For what we believe may have been the first time, an American conservative Christian writer has criticized Wiccans for being too gentle
and nice -- not willing to kill other human beings. Maginnis' paper will be a
useful essay for Wiccans to use as a reference when they are trying to
convince conservative Christians that they are not kidnappers, torturers,
and murderers of children, or Satan worshipers.
|
Unfortunately, Maginnis obviously did not have his paper reviewed by someone familiar with the Wiccan religion -- ideally a Wiccan. As a result many common misconceptions about Wicca were incorporated into his essay. These drastically lowered its credibility.
Related essays on this web site:
References used:
The following information sources were used to prepare and update the above
essay. The hyperlinks are not necessarily still active today.
-
"Witchcraft: Commonly-Asked Questions, Straightforward Answers," Covenant of the Goddess, at: http://www.cog.org/
-
"Circle Sanctuary - A Pledge to Pagan Spirituality," at:http://www.circlesanctuary.org/
Copyright © 1996 to 2015 by Ontario Consultants on
Religious Tolerance
Latest update: 2015-JUL-29
Author: B.A. Robinson
Sponsored link
|
Page Translator:
