In the still of a cold November evening, a small gathering of pagans, led by two witches, begins preparations for the coming winter solstice. But these are not just any pagans, and this is not just any setting. They are future officers of the United States Air Force practicing their faith in the basement of the Air Force Academy's cadet chapel.
Their ranks are slim. According to the academy's enrollment records, only three of 4,300 cadets identified themselves as pagans, followers of an ancient religion that generally does not worship a single god and considers all things in nature interconnected.
Still, the academy this year dedicated an $80,000 outdoor worship center — a small Stonehenge-like circle of boulders with propane fire pit — high on a hill for the handful of current or future cadets whose religions fall under the broad category of "Earth-based." Those include pagans, Wiccans, druids, witches and followers of Native American faiths.
In my opinion this is long overdue. Working to make cadets who have differing belief system than those that are, shall we say, more accepted in this country, can really only make for a stronger, military force.
You know just to give a historical perspective, it should be noted that pagans were NEVER associated with evil, or the devil. That was the sole creation of early Christians who wanted to undermine the healers, witchdoctors, shamans, and even mid-wives who they identified as posing a threat to the acceptance of their religion, and kept people from placing ALL of their faith in the Christian God, and his earthly representatives. (You can read more about that here.)
There was nothing new about what the early Christians did on behalf of their faith. That same scorched earth philosophy of dealing with religious competition was widely accepted in those times.
So it is nice to see that those old superstitions and fears can no be put to rest and that these once widely accepted belief systems can finally be practiced openly without fear of ridicule or retribution.
Of course I say that knowing full well that for some there will simply NEVER be acceptance, and that they will cling to their superstitions and hate until their last days on this earth. One can only hope that their children will have a more open and accepting heart.
I'm all for it, but leave it to the military to spend $80,000 on what is essentially a rocky patio with a bbq pit. First of all, the rocks don't have to be big enough to need a crane, and a little cement and some propane lines are really quite cheap. I've built pagan solstice stuff in the desert all by my little self, without spending a dime.
ReplyDelete$80,000? Sorry, acceptance is great, but that's asinine.
ReplyDeleteGood timing for this to hit the media as Panetta trying to say the 'cuts' would hurt the military and the Rethugs are determined to not allow the 'cuts'.
ReplyDeleteOoops!!
As a practicing witch, I'm all for inclusiveness. But $80,000? Really? We just use candles for the four quarters.
ReplyDeleteThere is no reason why the USAF academy should be accommodating anyone's religious preferences, Pagan, Christian, or otherwise.
ReplyDeleteWhy not just give them time off to worship at any number of facilities that are open to the public? I'm sure the AF Pagans would be able to find other Pagans to worship with.
***happy pagan dancing*** nice to see the Air Force recognizing Wicca finally! :)
ReplyDeletebut it does seem a bit expenisve - I could pull together lovely ritual for a lot less (a plane ticket to where ever they needed me, a little incense, some candles, and ta da!)
Let's take a look at how much the Military spends on other religious items:
ReplyDeleteSome DoD contract tax-dollar amounts.... Your tax dollars are work:
$28,000,000 for the Fort Hood "mega-church" project ($17,500,000 for its chapel complex and religious education center, and an additional $10,800,000 for its "Family Life Center");
$678,470 for Christian rock bands
$500,000 Oakridge Camp & Retreat Center for "Strong Bond" retreats;
Oakridge not only requires its employees to be Christians, but even goes as far as requiring on its employment application that the applicant state their views on issues such as abortion and homosexuality. While a private religious organization is free to impose a religious test on its staff, it is quite a different matter for a DoD contractor to do this. And, in the case of Oakridge, it is not only the facility's staff who must adhere to the its Christian beliefs, but all of its guests as well, including the soldiers attending Fort Sill's Strong Bonds and Spiritual Fitness retreats.
$12,346,333 to Military Community Youth Ministries (MCYM), "whose mission statement is 'Celebrate life with military teens, Introduce them to the Life-Giver, Jesus Christ, And help them become more like Him.'
$120,000 to Williamsburg Christian Retreat Center for Christian retreats, and also for Christian retreats: $75,000 to Baptist Association's Eastover Retreat Center, $53,000 to American Baptist Church's Canonicus Camping and Conference Center, and thousands more to other centers that "all hire only Christians, and many require in their employment applications that potential employees subscribe to a 'statement of faith' and provide their Christian 'testimony,' detailing when and how they were 'saved.'"
$80,000 to Unlimited Potential, Inc., a ministry "Serving Christ Through Baseball" by sending evangelical Christian major league baseball players to military events
Hmmm, we've got $80K left in the budget. Let's move some rocks and make a fire pit. Use it or lose it.
ReplyDeleteeighty grand, in military spending terms, IS relatively inexpensive. Halliburton has to get it's cut, along with all the paperwork and logistics involved. I recall a hammer or some such tool costing about a hundrend grand, so this is a bargain.
ReplyDeleteFunny the Christians would take offense, since many of their holidays were copied from pagan ones.
The occult also has a negative image, when it's nothing more than believing in something that's hidden or obscure from human senses, but is believed to exist. The same main tenant and keystone of all faith in God or Gods or Goddesses.
Would like to know how much is spent on the Christian faiths, just for comparison sake. I would guess much much more than eighty grand.
I'm all for it. If it gives comfort to even one soldier, it's money well spent, and money not spent killing innocent people.
Hey G,
ReplyDeleteIt doesn't happen often, but I'm in absolute DIS-AGREEMENT with you on this one.
1) No WAY that ridiculous setting should have cost ANYWHERE near $80,000, and WHOMEVER approved it, should be FIRED!!!!
2) You noted that prior to this installation, EVERYBODY "worshipped" in the "Basement chapel".
Now, I don't have pictures, obviously, but I don't imagine the "basement chapel" got $80,000 of "love"...
3) Irony: these "earth-based" religions often practice in the middle of nature - AS IT IS. I imagine it lends itself to the celebration of Mother Earth and her beautifully imperfect perfection.
The Air Force Academy spent $80,000 to RIP apart Mother Nature and ARTIFICIALLY MANIPULATE a space for "earth-based" religions.
Mother Earth: "Thanks, asshats!"
4) I was always taught: A CHURCH is the people, not the building.
bottom line: That's just a fuckload of money, man.
@6:20- Thanks! that was the last point i wanted to make!
ReplyDeleteWhy are they involved in setting up aNY place of worship, for ANYONE?
Go off site and do your own thing, people.
For free...
You're talking about putting superstitions to sleep? Really? In the service of more superstitions? This is the kind of logic Glenn Beck would be proud of.
ReplyDeleteSeriously, where does the government get off spending tax dollars to prop ANY religion? Paganism may be totally benign (unlike too many other faith systems), but it's still a faith system with no basis in reality.
ReplyDeleteLove that they put this thought and effort into it. Though, really, 80K? Sounds like some expensive cement and boulders.
ReplyDeleteThis will really make take tiny fanatical heads explode. And no, they will never accept it. When have the religious fundies EVER accepted anyone or anything different?
As a "witch" myself, I really appreciate this being available to my brothers and sisters who serve at this Academy.
This is great news! I'm glad to read that the military is starting to recognize the diversity of religions that exist within our armed services.
ReplyDeleteWonder how much they spend on the Christian religious structures?
ReplyDeleteTake my tax dollars for this? hah! I don't want another penny spend on religion in the military. Let them purchase some off-campus property and auction it to any religion willing to pony up the dough for a new fire pit.
ReplyDeleteThe military academies offer paid education to people willing to study military studies. So where is the national science academy? Where is the national humanities academy? Where is the national space academy? Where is the national academy for people with physical/mental challenges?
The military academies are sacred cows. They have the finest in architecture. The decor is expensive. The sports budgets are astronomical. Nothing but the best for the pets of the pentagon.
After we force congress to stop giving themselves gold-plated health insurance, cushy pensions, junkets and penalty-free insider trading, we can start looking at some of the other hugely expensive budget leaks.
Just for laughs, try this on your next conservative debater: Talk about funding a national science academy using uniform money from the military academies. There is NO reason the tax payers pay to clad students in uber-spiffy ridiculous dress uniforms. The little darlings can prance around their uber-beautiful campuses in t-shirts and jeans.
If that doesn't make their head-explode, mention slashing the football budget. It's really very entertaining to watch a conservative bellow for football then whine about "big government".
"Fort Sill's Strong Bonds and Spiritual Fitness retreats."
ReplyDeleteOh, my! Tea Party types must adore spending there tax dollars on that one.
They HATE that pesky "Freedom of Religion" thing. What on earth are we kvetching about $80k for? What AKBright said. Thank you!
ReplyDelete...it says 'practicing their faith in the basement of the Air Force Academy's cadet chapel', not the basement chapel. I have a feeling a lot more than $80,000 was spent on that chapel.
ReplyDeleteI think it's is ridiculous that ANY tax $ is spent on someone's personal religious preference. That said, if a place of worship of one kind is going to be provided it should be expected that other religions also have their place.
Too bad the USAF didn't research how to produce the site more inexpensively, but I don't care about the money. I am just glad they did it.
ReplyDeleteIf anyone should be upset, then let's see how much the military spends upon accommodating Christians and Jews.
I hope accommodation is made for those who practice Islam. If you accommodate one faith, you should accommodate all under the Constitution.
Thanks akbright for the figures.
ReplyDeleteJust let them complain about the pagan site -- look at that horrendous expenditure for just one Christian site at Fort Hood!
That riles me up. I am so tired of Christians being given preferential treatment on my dime. I used to be Christian, and this still upsets me.
The government is not supposed to favor any one religion. No taxpayer money should be used to build any religious site - though, if they do one, they should do all.
The amount spent on the pagan site is certainly minimal in comparison to the Christian bill.
Imagine how much that must be when taking all services into account at all their locations. Stunning waste of money. Maybe cutting the military budget will cut this unconstitutional nonsense out.
That said, I suspect it will not AND I am very glad the military is finally paying respect to alternate belief systems. About time.
I've actually been there.
ReplyDeleteThere's also a synagogue and Buddhist temple in the "basement" as well.
And although the synagogue has several paintings by Shlomo Katz, the xtian church "upstairs" cost WAY, WAY-HAY-HAY-HAYYYY more than all of the religions in the "basement" put together.
So, when O'Really and the rest of the talking heads at Fox News start getting their panties all up in a bunch over eighty grand, perhaps the rest of us should demand ALL FUNDS FOR RELIGIOUS PURPOSES BE SPENT EQUALLY AMONG RELIGIONS.
What womanwithsardinecan said: $80,000 for that? O.o
ReplyDeleteThe government should not be spending any money at all on any religion, let the pagans/neo-pagans/wiccans worship on their own, they're not a real religion anyway, my gosh their beliefs are even sillier than Christians'.
ReplyDeleteWhile on the surface this may seem to be a step in the right direction, tolerance, inclusive and all that, please remember that the Air Force and the Air Force Academy have of late become quite right wing conservative Xian. If you're not WASP you are a target. So these three have just been added to the list of women, blacks, hispanics, jews, catholics, muslims and "anyone else that isn't us" list that is a secret and unspoken value system of the Air Force.
ReplyDeleteIf you don't believe me, there have been other instances of abuse besides tailhook. I'm sure Gryphen could find them if a follow up were warranted.
Otherwise, just wait for it. *IF* the media bothers to report it.
It is disappointing to see so many people just swallowing this story whole without even looking further into it (that includes you, Gryph).
ReplyDeleteAnd shame on the LA Times for leaving out pertinent pieces of information easily available to them on the Air Force Chapel website:
http://www.usafa.af.mil/information/factsheets/factsheet_print.asp?fsID=9415&page=1
EXCERPT:
FALCON CIRCLE
The worship area known as the Cadet Chapel - Falcon Circle came about through a request from the Air Force Academy's followers of Earth-Centered Spirituality, an umbrella of traditions that includes Wicca, Paganism and Druidism. The large stones comprising the circle were removed from the side of the hill overlooking the Academy's visitor center, where erosion threatened to collapse them onto the visitor center. The circular nature in which the stones were placed lent itself to facilitating outdoor worship services.
Following the Earth-Centered community's request, the Academy spent approximately $80,000 to upgrade the area, adding flagstones to enhance the circle's safety and a fire pit to accommodate religious services. Cameras were added to protect the site from unauthorized access.
The Falcon Circle was dedicated in an official ceremony May 3, 2011, making it the newest of the Cadet Chapel's worship areas. It is open to use by all religious communities to worship in a manner respectful of other faiths; however, in the event of scheduling conflicts, the Earth-Centered community receives precedence.
-----
The deal here, folks, is that it was an addition to an already existing huge Chapel facility. There are religious facilities at the military academies because, guess what, when you "own" an American citizen's life 24/7 you have to provide a place for religious observance, should that citizen desire it.
Please note that this new "addition" not only is available to EVERYONE to use, it appears to have been a handy dandy solution to a site problem where existing boulders posed a threat to the existing building. It was not built just for a HANDFUL of specially oriented people. They already have space in the All Faiths rooms.
Of course, that is not such exciting (or truthful) a story as what was printed here and in the LA Times.
I am disappointed that no one even tried to fact check this You are no better than the RightWingers who open their mouths and swallow without even asking what is in the spoon. Sorry, Gryph, but you fell for this one.
MicMac
One thing that is strange is that people expect for Christians to back down from what they believe to accodomate others beliefs.Just because someone does not accept your beliefs or behaviors does not make them haters. Some people are grounded in who Jesus Christ is,God in the flesh.Paganism is idol worship whether you choose to say you worship the devil or the trees it is not worshipping the One who created you.Christians do not have to accept idol worship anymore than others have to accept christianity.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that is strange is that people expect for Christians to back down from what they believe to accodomate others beliefs.Just because someone does not accept your beliefs or behaviors does not make them haters. Some people are grounded in who Jesus Christ is,God in the flesh.Paganism is idol worship whether you choose to say you worship the devil or the trees it is not worshipping the One who created you.Christians do not have to accept idol worship anymore than others have to accept christianity.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that is strange is that people expect for Christians to back down from what they believe to accodomate others beliefs.Just because someone does not accept your beliefs or behaviors does not make them haters. Some people are grounded in who Jesus Christ is,God in the flesh.Paganism is idol worship whether you choose to say you worship the devil or the trees it is not worshipping the One who created you.Christians do not have to accept idol worship anymore than others have to accept christianity.
ReplyDeleteAnon: No one is expecting Christians to back down on their beliefs (or Jews or Muslims or any one else, believers or non-belivers) by the construction of this site.
ReplyDeleteAF Christians already have a marvelous space in which to pray at the multimillion dollar, taxpayer built, chapel, the construction of which took great pains to create other spaces within to accommodate all religions (including Wiccan, Pagan, Bahai, Mormon, Muslim or whatever.)
The construction of this stone patio outdoor space, is an addition to the existing chapel, and is open to anyone to use. I would expect atheists as well, but, admittedly, that is not clear from the article.
I just think this is not all that big of a deal that the LA TIMES (of all corporate/individual people!) is making of it, just to sell papers.
The funny thing is that the comments on IM and the comments on such RW sites as Free Republic are pretty much the same.
You all bit the same worm without even so much as taking the time to look into this. Just sayin.'
MicMac
Thanks, micmac. You are correct.
ReplyDeleteI don't have a problem with accommodation of various faiths, as it is a tradition to give soldiers a bit of their own religious space in which to worship. But just as I think spending a million bucks to erect some overblown chapel (don't know what it actually cost), I just think the mini-StoneHenge is another example of poor financial management. I used to be a restaurant manager. I had to maintain a decent food and labor cost that balanced service with affordability. Government doesn't have the so-called bottom line, but a little financial common sense (TWO WORDS, damnit)in construction budgets would be appreciated by us taxpayers. I just think the wiccans might be snickering at the Air Force's slightly misdirected attempt at equality. But then, maybe the pagans in the military just figure they may as well go with the "bigger is better" meme to maintain a viable spiritual presence.
ReplyDeleteDear 2:54 - ummm, were you so threatened by a non-Christian faith getting a worship place that you felt you needed to post your comment 3 times? Paganism is not idol worship and it is as valid a faith as Christianity, Judiasm, Islam, Buddhism, or many others. If you do a bit of research, you'll find that a lot of Christian traditions were taken from other faiths by the early Christian leaders to lead legitimacy to their own, fairly new religion.
ReplyDeleteStudying your own faith is an excellent way to strengthen it!
Another Note to anonymous 2:54: Wiccans do not worship the devil - that's a Christian misconception. We don't acknowledge that "the devil" exists at all. The early church fathers needed to make the horned green man and other nature deities unpleasant to people so they took the name of Satan from the Bible and mixing it with the Zoroastrian evil force, Arriman, and adding in the hoofs and horns of Pan, created a fear-figure and an evil adversary.
ReplyDeleteAnon@2:54 said "One thing that is strange is that people expect for Christians to back down from what they believe to accodomate others beliefs".
ReplyDeleteNO ONE expects Christians to "back down . . ."! But, really, people of all faiths have the right to worship in the fashion they choose. I myself would like to see NO funds spent on any religious worship as required by the Constitution's separation of church and state clause.
Since our government HAS spent billions on Christian/Jewish/etc facilities over the years - they cannot now refuse to provide accommodations for worship facilities for other groups. The fact they spent $80,000 to build this says that the groups using the site obviously have more than just a few members on a continuing basis - and needed some permanent structures to accommodate current and future worshippers.
It doesn't really matter if they worship idols, animals, nature, the Sun, etc, that's NOT your decision to make - if they have an established system of worship - they legally have the same rights to accommodations as has been made for the Christians and other groups.
That is the only thing you have to "accept" - legally, ALL members of the US Military have the same rights to worship/facility as you. No one is asking you to back down from anything - but you really SHOULD back off from trying to suppress the rights
to religious freedoms of the men and women in the US Military.
In what way is observing the law of the land requiring Christians to "accommodate" anything? Is there anything in the article saying that Christians are being forced to worship Wicca, Pagans, Idols? Anything? As a citizen of this country you do not have the right to prevent others from enjoying the same rights you enjoy - and what you believe does NOT take precedence over others religious beliefs.
When they stop government funding of religion in the Military members can attend worship services of their choice in the community, just like all the rest of us - and this uproar about government sponsored religion can be put to rest. Perhaps then you won't feel so threatened by others' full-blooded, patriotic, AMERICAN religious freedom to worship!
Whoa...that explanatory link led to a Wiccan explanation with the author's website opening up a "brutal rape" porno site...not cool. Also not very convincing. Educational in the wrong way.
ReplyDeleteI'm with those who say to get religion OUT of the military. Unless you're into "holy wars," I just don't see what one has to do with the other.
In the still of a cold November evening, a small gathering of pagans, led by two witches, begins preparations for the coming winter solstice. But these are not just any pagans, and this is not just any setting. Shipping News
ReplyDeleteBEAUTIFULLY SPOKEN!...My spirituality is in my heart where ever I go nothing can take it away from me! Folks can yell ..remove religion from school ...from military. but if my spirituality is in my heart it can not be removed unless I myself remove it (well that wont ever happen) I am a Proud Pagan myself and lover of the ancient ways!
ReplyDelete