Many people in the US of A proudly state that it was founded on “freedom of religion,” a concept that is also enshrined as a human right by the United Nations. It is generally defined as “everyone is free to practice their own religion,” but many of those same people seem to interpret that slightly differently, as “everyone is free to practice my religion.”

I’m specifically referring to this news story from the Associated Press yesterday:

Wiccan symbol OK for soldiers’ graves – CNN.com

“This settlement has forced the Bush Administration into acknowledging that there are no second class religions in America, including among our nation’s veterans,” said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, which represented the Wiccans in the lawsuit.

I wondered how the Veteran’s Administration defines an “authorized” religion. Is it by how long people have worshipped that way? Eckankar (misspelled as Eckiankar in the AP story) is on the list, and it was founded in 1965. Or maybe by the number of members? The Aaronic Order is on the list, and it has less than 2,000 members. Since Wicca was apparently founded around 1939, had more than 300,000 members in 2001, and is said to be emerging as America’s third major religion, neither seems to be the case.

Could it be that the Veteran’s Administration simply didn’t wish to acknowledge them? That it’s members didn’t have the numbers or financial clout to overcome stigma of being a non-Christian religion in a Christian-dominated country?

What will the VA do when someone’s family demands a lightsabre on their loved one’s gravestone?

UPDATE: Further information explains exactly why this decision was made.