The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) maintains many cemeteries specifically devoted to veterans. Most have various rules regarding what must take place in order to be interred there.
The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) maintains many cemeteries specifically devoted to veterans. Most have various rules regarding what must take place in order to be interred there.
The VA only permits graphics on government-furnished headstones or markers that are approved emblems of belief, the Civil War Union Shield (including those who served in the U.S. military through the Spanish–American War), the Civil War Confederate Southern Cross of Honor, and the Medal of Honor insignia. Arlington National Cemetery has similar restrictions on headstones, though it is maintained by US Department of the Army.
The religious symbols are rendered as simple inscriptions without sculptural relief or coloring other than black. The emblem of belief is an optional feature. [1]
Generally the VA adds a new symbol a few months after receiving a petition from a faith group. [2] However, the Wiccan symbol was only added in 2007 to settle a lawsuit filed on behalf of several families by Americans United for the Separation of Church and State in November 2006. [2] [3] [4] A separate parallel lawsuit was filed on behalf of two Wiccan churches and three families by the American Civil Liberties Union in September 2006, which was resolved by the same settlement. [5] [6] [7]
The first interfaith headstone, which includes a Wiccan pentacle for Jan Deanna O'Rourke and a Presbyterian Cross for her husband, was installed at Arlington National Cemetery on May 1, 2007, and dedicated on July 4, 2007. [8]
The following emblems and emblem numbers are publicized as available for government headstones and markers as of March 2024. [9] A process is in place to consider approving additional religious or belief system emblems requested by the families of individuals eligible for these headstones and markers. [9]
Each emblem is given its official USVA name and designation, with added additional links for related symbolism (*) and for related movements (†). Explanatory footnotes are provided where symbols' meanings are not immediately apparent.
Heathenry is a modern Pagan new religious movement that has been active in the United States since at least the early 1970s. Although the term "Heathenry" is often employed to cover the entire religious movement, different Heathen groups within the United States often prefer the term "Ásatrú" or "Odinism" as self-designations.
Arlington National Cemetery is one of two cemeteries in the United States National Cemetery System that are maintained by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres in Arlington County, Virginia.
A pentagram is a regular five-pointed star polygon, formed from the diagonal line segments of a convex regular pentagon. Drawing a circle around the five points creates a similar symbol referred to as the pentacle, which is used widely by Wiccans and in paganism, or as a sign of life and connections. The word "pentagram" refers only to the five-pointed star, not the surrounding circle of a pentacle.
The Celtic cross is a form of Christian cross featuring a nimbus or ring that emerged in Ireland, France and Great Britain in the Early Middle Ages. A type of ringed cross, it became widespread through its use in the stone high crosses erected across the islands, especially in regions evangelized by Irish missionaries, from the ninth through the 12th centuries.
The United States National Cemetery System is a system of 164 cemeteries in the United States and its territories. The authority to create military burial places came during the American Civil War, in an act passed by the U.S. Congress on July 17, 1862. By the end of 1862, 12 national cemeteries had been established, including two of the nation's most iconic military cemeteries, Arlington National Cemetery and Gettysburg National Cemetery.
A religious symbol is an iconic representation intended to represent a specific religion, or a specific concept within a given religion.
A flaming chalice is the most widely used symbol of Unitarianism and Unitarian Universalism (UUism) and the official logo of the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) and other Unitarian and UU churches and societies.
The Covenant of the Goddess (CoG) is a cross-traditional Wiccan group of solitary Wiccan practitioners and over one hundred affiliated covens. It was founded in 1975 in order to increase co-operation among witches and to secure for witches and covens the legal protection enjoyed by members of other religions. Member covens generally focus theology and ritual around the worship of the Goddess and the Old Gods, which is general practice within Wicca. The Covenant of the Goddess operates largely by consensus and maintains strict autonomy for all members.
Selena Fox is a Wiccan priestess, interfaith minister, environmentalist, pagan elder, author, and lecturer in the fields of pagan studies, ecopsychology, and comparative religion.
Patrick Dana 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 Fernley, Nevada, United States and a practicing Wiccan.
USVA may refer to:
The atomic whirl is a symbol of science and has come to be used as a symbol of atheism in general.
Circle Sanctuary is a non-profit organization and legally recognized neopagan church based in southwestern Wisconsin, US. It aims to encourage community celebrations, spiritual healing, research, networking and education.
Modern pagans are a religious minority in every country where they exist and have been subject to religious discrimination and/or religious persecution. The largest modern pagans communities are in North America and the United Kingdom, and the issue of discrimination receives most attention in those locations, but there are also reports from other countries.
Modern paganism in the United States is represented by widely different movements and organizations. The largest modern pagan religious movement is Wicca, followed by Neodruidism. Both of these religions or spiritual paths were introduced during the 1950s and 1960s from Great Britain. Germanic Neopaganism and Kemetism appeared in the US in the early 1970s. Hellenic Neopaganism appeared in the 1990s.
The Russian Orthodox Cross is a variation of the Christian cross since the 16th century in Russia, although it bears some similarity to a cross with a bottom crossbeam slanted the other way (upwards) found since the 6th century in the Byzantine Empire. The Russian Orthodox cross has three horizontal crossbeams, with the lowest one slanted downwards. Today it is a symbol of the Russian Orthodox Church and a distinctive feature of the cultural landscape of Russia. Other names for the symbol include the Russian cross, and Slavonic or Suppedaneum cross.
Religious symbolism in the United States military includes the use of religious symbols for military chaplain insignia, uniforms, emblems, flags, and chapels; symbolic gestures, actions, and words used in military rituals and ceremonies; and religious symbols or designations used in areas such as headstones and markers in national cemeteries, and military ID tags.
Pierre Claveloux Davis, also known as Pete Pathfinder, was a religious figure in modern Paganism. He founded the Aquarian Tabernacle Church (ATC) in 1985, in Index, Washington, and served as its archpriest. He was also involved with several publications and related organizations. Davis advocated for Wicca and Paganism as an expert witness, and was part of a group of people who successfully petitioned for the pentacle to be available as a symbol used on U.S. veteran's headstones.
Wiccans and pagans in the United States military have, since the close of the 20th century, experienced a gradual increase in official recognition. The Wiccan pentacle is now an approved emblem for gravestones under the Veterans Administration, achieved in 2007 following legal action regarding the grave of Wiccan soldier Patrick Stewart. In 2011, the United States Air Force Academy dedicated an $80,000 "outdoor worship center" for "Earth-based religions" such as paganism and traditional Native American religions. As of 2022, there is no provision for official recognition of Wiccan or pagan chaplains.
The Northern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery opened in 1990 under the administration of the Nevada Office of Veterans Services. The Northern Nevada Veterans Cemetery is funded by the State of Nevada and the National Cemetery Association. The cemetery is 35 miles east of Reno and is adjacent to Interstate 80, in Fernley, Nevada.
White marble niche covers (15¾ x 11¼ x ¼) generally contain 11 lines of text with or without an optional emblem of belief.
Media related to Approved gravestone emblems of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs at Wikimedia Commons