Legal Basis For Wicca
Pagan
anti-defamation organizations are springing up everywhere. But each individual Witch, Wiccan or Pagan
should have a working knowledge of their fundamental rights and avenue to legal
recourse. This post is more in the
United States, where most of my readers are, but there are several other counties
that also provide legislations.
Wicca
in the United States is a living growing religion. As a religion, Wicca is protected by the
Constitution. The Law has the obligation
to serve and protect Wiccan's in their religious endeavors, equally as much as
it protects the rights and freedoms of other groups.
In
the United States today, Wicca is entitled to the same rights and protections
as other groups under the First and Fourteenth Amendments. Wicca is
recognized in the United States as a legitimate religion. In 1985, Dettmer vs. Landon, the
District Court of Virginia ruled that Wicca is a legitimate religion and falls
within a recognizable religious category. In 1986, in the Federal Appeals court fourth
circuit Butzner affirmed the decision.
The
United States Constitution, under the First and Fourteenth Amendments supports
the right of all peoples in the United States to practice their own belief
system and to enjoy this in each their own manner. Lawyers and Law Enforcement Agencies have the
obligation to protect the rights of all people in their religious endeavors, no
matter what they may be, without bias or prejudice.
Dettmer
vs. Landon
Dettmer
vs. Landon (1986), is a court case in
which the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit held that
although Wicca was a religion, it was not a violation of the First Amendment to
deny a prisoner access to ritual objects.
A
29 year old inmate incarcerated at the Powhatan Correctional Center in State
Farm, Virginia claimed that his First Amendment right to the free exercise of
his religion, the Church of Wicca, was violated by prison officials who refused
to give him any access to his religion's worship materials. Prison officials said that the worship
materials that Dettmer seek - candles; a statue; a white robe; incense; and
either sulfur, sea salt, or unionized salt - would be hazardous to prison
security. The prison officials also
claimed that the Church of Wicca is not a religion entitled to First Amendment
protection.
A
decision was then reached: "Members of the Church of Wicca sincerely
adhere to a fairly complex set of doctrines relating to the spiritual aspect of
their lives, and in doing so they have 'ultimate concerns' in much the same way
as followers of more accepted religions. Their ceremonies and leadership structure,
their rather elaborate set of articulated doctrine, their belief in the concept
of another world, and their broad concern for improving the quality of life for
others gives them at least some facial similarity to other more widely
recognized religions. While there are
certainly aspects of Wiccan philosophy that may strike most people as strange
or incomprehensible, the mere fact that a belief may be unusual does not strip
it of constitutional protection. Accordingly, the Court concludes that the Church
of Wicca, of which the plaintiff is a sincere follower, is a religion for the
purpose of the free exercise clause."
While
not entirely a victory for Dettmer, this was the first time Wicca was
recognized by a court of law as a legitimate religion.
Lamb's Chapel vs. Center Moriches Union Free School
District (1993), was a decision by the Supreme Court of the United
States concerning whether Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment was
offended by a school district that refused to allow a church access to school
premises to show films dealing with family and child-rearing issues faced by
parents.
In a
unanimous decision, the court concluded that New
York law authorizes local school boards to adopt reasonable regulations
permitting the after-hours use of school property for 10 specified purposes,
not including meetings for religious purposes. Pursuant to this law, respondent school board
issued rules and regulations allowing, inter alia, social, civic, and
recreational uses of its schools, but prohibiting use by any group for
religious purposes.
After the District refused two requests
by petitioners, an evangelical church and its pastor, to use school facilities
for a religious-oriented film series on family values and childrearing on the
ground that the film appeared to be church-related, the Church filed suit in
the District Court, claiming that the District's actions violated, among other
things, the First Amendment's Freedom of Speech Clause.
The Supreme Court ruled unanimously to reject the
school district's decision to refuse to allow school property to be used for
religious activities.
Church of the Lukumi
Babalu Aye Inc. vs. Hialeah (1993), was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United
States held that an ordinance passed in Hialeah, Florida, forbidding the "unnecessary"
killing of "an animal in a public or private ritual or ceremony not for
the primary purpose of food consumption", was unconstitutional. The law was enacted soon after the city
council of Hialeah learned that the Church of Lukumi Babalu Aye, which
practiced Santeria, a religion whose rituals sometimes demand animal sacrifice,
was planning on locating there. The
church filed a lawsuit in United States district court for the Southern
District of Florida, seeking for the Hialeah ordinance to be declared
unconstitutional.
The
case Church of Lukumi Babalu Aye, Inc. vs. City of Hialeah was a landmark
decision that declared any law specifically concerning a certain religion
unconstitutional. This case dealt with a
Hialeah, Florida restricting the sacrifice rituals of the religion of Santeria.
The Supreme Court declared this law unconstitutional
on the grounds that it specifically dealt with a religion. This is different than the Oregon case
Employment Division of Oregon vs. Smith that restricted the Native American's
use of peyote because of the fact it was an "across the board" law
that declared it illegal for anyone to use, not specifically the Native
Americans.
The Court unanimously invalidated the city
ordinances that outlawed animal sacrifices. This decision reaffirmed the standard set
forth to determine whether a law violates the freedom of individuals' to
exercise their religions. In order to
not have to meet the compelling interest standard a law must be generally
applicable and neutral.
Wallace vs. Jaffree (1985), was a United States
Supreme Court case deciding on the issue of silent school prayer. The case Wallace vs. Jaffree declared the
Alabama "moment of silence" unconstitutional. Alabama's statute stated that the minute of
silence was for the purpose of "meditation or voluntary prayer." The reason that it was declared
unconstitutional was the fact that it recognized prayer, a tool of religious
worship, in its public schools, plus the intent of the legislatures with their
quote "to return voluntary prayer in our public schools and return to the
basic moral fiber.
The
Court determined the constitutionality of Alabama's prayer and meditation
statute by applying the secular purpose test, which asked if the state's actual
purpose was to endorse or disapprove of religion. The Court held that Alabama's passage of the
prayer and meditation statute was not only a deviation from the state's duty to
maintain absolute neutrality toward religion, but was an affirmative
endorsement of religion. As such, the
statute clearly lacked any secular purpose as it sought to establish religion
in public schools, thereby violating the First Amendment's Establishment
Clause.
Crystal Seifferly Lawsuit vs.
The Lincoln Park School Board
The
Witches Anti-Discrimination League announced a settlement in the Crystal Seifferly
Lawsuit against The Lincoln Park School Board. Ms. Seifferly filed a lawsuit against the Lincoln
Park School board challenging the Lincoln Park School District's 4-month-old
rule against certain student uses of the pentacle, a five-pointed star that's a
symbol of her Wicca faith and common in jewelry.
In
this decree, all students will be permitted to wear religious jewelry
regardless of their denomination or religious/spiritual backgrounds. The word "pentacle" will not be
removed from the school dress code however will be allowed if the wearer
declares it a profession of religion. As
per the agreement, there will be no need for any student to contact the
administration informing them of their religious affiliation, however, if
stopped by security or the administration, a student will only need to state
that the symbol is a profession of their religion.
Patrick Stewart
Lawsuit
Patrick Stewart was a soldier in the United States Army. He died in combat in Afghanistan when his
Chinook helicopter was shot down by a rocket-propelled grenade while returning
to base. Patrick Stewart was a resident
of Nevada, USA and a practicing Wiccan.
After
his death, controversy ensued when the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
initially refused to imprint a Wiccan pentacle on his grave, to the dismay of
his widow Roberta Stewart. Roberta Stewart commented "...remember that all freedoms
are worth fighting for".
Prior
to 2007, the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) did not allow
the use of the pentacle as an approved emblem of belief on headstones and
markers in military cemeteries. This
policy was changed in April 2007 to settle the lawsuit. VA also added the Hammer of Thor to the list of
approved emblems in May 2013.
Jamyi Witch Controversy
In
2001–2002 several Republican state representatives in Wisconsin objected to the
hiring of Jamyi Witch, a Wiccan, as a prison chaplain. The objection to the hiring was led by Michael
Huebsch and later joined by Scott Walker (currently the Governor of Wisconsin).
In December 2001, Mike
Huebsch began leading efforts to block the funding for Witch's $32,500-a-year
position. He stated taxpayers
"shouldn't be forced to accept this hocus-pocus." The legislators had learned that Wisconsin
Department of Corrections had recently hired Rev. Jamyi Witch as a prison
chaplain at the Waupun Correctional Institution in Waupun, Wisconsin. Witch, who had volunteered for two years as a
chaplain and had an extensive knowledge of alternative religions, had competed
against nine other candidates for the civil service position and was hired as
the most qualified candidate.
Huebsch
and Walker objected publicly on the basis of her religion to the chaplain’s
hiring, saying: "Witch's hiring raises both personal and political
concerns. Not only does she practice a
different religion than most of the inmates – she practices a religion that
actually offends people of many other faiths, including Christians, Muslims and
Jews."
Walker
and Huebsch, who had said they would draft legislation to prevent similar hiring's
by the state of Wisconsin, were ultimately unsuccessful in their efforts to
terminate the employment of Witch, who was represented by the Wisconsin State
Employees Union, founding body of the American Federation of State, County and
Municipal Employees. Witch and the
prison's only Muslim chaplain were subsequently excluded from the longstanding
Waupun Clergy Association, which declared that it was open only to Christians.
In
2011, Witch was taken hostage by an inmate who barricaded himself in her
office. The inmate alleged that Witch
masterminded the hostage crisis in order to get a transfer to another prison. The State charged Witch with multiple criminal
offenses, including sexual assault as the inmate claimed that she complied with
performing a forced sexual act during the hostage situation. Prosecutors dropped the charges in August 2013
due to inconsistencies in the accuser's claims. Witch stated that the charges should have
never been filed and that she plans to file suit against the Department of Corrections
and other involved agencies.
Although
Wicca has gained acceptance in the past twenty years, it remains a minority
religion and continues to have to fight for religious freedom. The United States is a multi-faith society;
freedom of religion is constitutionally guaranteed. No religion has official support or preference
from any governmental entity or any of its agents. Discrimination on the basis of religious
preference is illegal.
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