The First Amendment and the U.S. Military: Discrimination Against Wiccan Military Chaplains

Don Larsen, former Pentecostal military chaplain.

Don Larsen’s military chaplaincy served several thousand military servicemen and servicewomen throughout his career, allowing him to reach them through his Pentecostal faith and the endorsement of the Chaplaincy of Full Gospel Churches, a Dallas-based association of Pentecostal churches . He was praised by Chaplain Kevin L. McGhee, the head of his chaplaincy and Larsen’s supervisor, who called him the best chaplain amongst the twenty-six chaplains serving at Camp Anaconda in Iraq. McGhee continued to rain praise upon him, saying “I could go on and on about how well he preached, the care he gave.”

The purpose of military chaplains, as stated by the Air Force Chaplain Corps and echoed among the other branches of the U.S. Military, is to “offer a broadly based ministry aimed at meeting the diverse pastoral needs of the pluralistic military community.”  They are told to abide by the First Amendment by supporting the free exercise of religion, both directly and indirectly, for all members of the Military Services, their dependents, and other authorized persons.

The 22 February 2006 bombing of the Golden Mosque in Samarra, Iraq, which collapsed the dome of a 1,200-year-old holy site and triggered attacks between Shiite and Sunni militants, prompted Larsen to make a decision – and a change of heart – regarding his own personal faith.

Larsen describes the transformation in him as when “I realized so many innocent people are dying in the name of God. When you think back over the Catholic-Protestant conflict, how the Jews have suffered, how some Christians justified slavery, the Crusades, and the fighting between Shiite and Sunni Muslims, I just decided I’m done.” He decided to convert from Protestant to Wicca, stating, “I will not be part of any church that unleashes its clergy to preach that particular individuals or faith groups are damned.”

There are many definitions as to what Wicca is, as the religion caters to a person’s specific beliefs and practices, but it is typically agreed upon that Wicca is a nature-based religion that recognizes a dual nature of deity. Followers believe in a God and a Goddess and believe that the feminine is at least as important as the masculine aspect of deity. It is a nationally recognized religion in the United States, and is currently experience a rapid growth in the U.S., Canada, and Europe, with statistics doubling the number of adherents around every 18 months. 

While Larsen’s ideas on faith had changed, the military believed that this particular individual was damned due to his conversion. After applying to become the military’s first Wiccan chaplain, the Pentagon responded by stripping Larsen of his chaplaincy and yanked the proverbial rug under him, pulling him back to the United States and officially discharging him from his military services.

A man who was once the most highly revered chaplain of his platoon was nothing more than a civilian, stripped of his ranks and his position of service to thousands of military personnel, over a religious calling.

Though somewhere between 4,000 and 6,000 Pagans serve in the United States Armed Forces today, there is not a single chaplain to represent them and the diverse faiths that fall under the Pagan umbrella.  Comparatively, there are approximately twenty Jewish chaplains to accommodate its 4,000 adherents, and about a dozen Imam chaplains for approximately 3,500 Muslim servicemen and women. On a smaller scale, some faiths with smaller numbers do have chaplains, including six teachers for around 650 Christian Scientists, forty-one Mormon chaplains for the 17,500 Mormons in uniform, and one Buddhist chaplain for around 4,500 Buddhists.

A main requirement for a chaplain to be recognized is the endorsement from an established religious group. The Army, the section of the military of which Larsen was a part, also lists the following as requirements to become a chaplain in the military :

1.    You must obtain an ecclesiastical endorsement from your faith group. This endorsement should certify that you are:
a.    A clergy person in your denomination or faith group.
b.    Qualified spiritually, morally, intellectually and emotionally to serve as a Chaplain in the Army.
c.    Sensitive to religious pluralism and able to provide for the free exercise of religion by all military personnel, their family members and civilians who work for the Army.
2.    Educationally, you must:
a.    Possess a baccalaureate degree of not less than 120 semester hours.
b.    Possess a master's degree in divinity or a graduate degree in theological studies, which includes at least 72 hours.
3.    Be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident.
4.    Be able to receive a favorable background check.
5.    Pass a physical exam.

As mentioned previously, Larsen had attained the endorsement of the Chaplaincy of Full Gospel Churches while serving as a Protestant chaplain, which calls for chaplains who “[proclaim] the gospel of Jesus Christ in spiritually dark areas”  across its front page. Agencies must be approved through the U.S. Military and the Pentagon, and go through what is typically a short process: an application to become an endorser.

On 31 July 1997, Sacred Well Congregation , a Texas-based Wiccan congregation that started in the early 1990s, put in its own application to become Larsen’s new endorser. Upon its initial review, the Army cited a minor bureaucratic obstacle: It could not find a copy of his previous endorsement from the Chaplaincy of Full Gospel Churches, which would have shown that he satisfied the five requirements to become a chaplain.

While following up on the request for his form, there were communications between Full Gospel and Larsen who, when asked if it was true that he desired to convert to Wicca, pleaded with the Chaplaincy to not rescind its endorsement until he could complete the switch. However, upon learning that Larsen’s application for a religious switch was true, they immediately severed ties with him. Stuck in chaplaincy limbo, with his original endorser no longer supporting him and the Sacred Well Congregation not yet able to attain proper status, Larsen was ordered to cease functioning as a chaplain, effective immediately, and was pulled form Iraq.

In response to the pull and accusations that bringing Larsen back to the United States was religious discrimination, Lt. Col. Randall Dolinger, the Army Chief of Chaplains spokesperson, denied any such accusations: “What you’re really dealing with is more of a personal drama, what one person has been through and the choices he’s made. Plus, the fact that the military does have Catch-22s.”

In addition, the endorsing entity must be able to meet certain criteria, which Dolinger has said the Sacred Well Congregation has met – all but one, to present a “viable candidate.” The group’s previous nominee was turned away, as his eyesight was not 20/20. Sacred Well was confident in Larsen’s candidacy, considering his physical fitness, his Master’s degree from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, and his ten years as an officer for the National Guard, where he finished nearly the top of his class in chaplain’s training and was already serving as a chaplain in Iraq.

But David L. Oringderff, a retired Army intelligence officer and an elder of the Sacred Well Congregation, said that his group underestimated the institutional resistance. Once they had Larsen as a viable candidate, the Chaplaincy changed the rules. They apparently have done this “[e]ach time we advance to a scoring position[.]”

There have been other attempts at Wiccans attempting to become chaplains in the military, but all have failed. One notable attempt was by Marci Drewry, who enlisted in the United States Army on 19 October 1981. She served for a 23-year career, and retired on 1 November 2004 as a Chief Warrant Officer 4, the equivalent of a senior Major or junior Lieutenant Colonel. She is also a Wiccan Priestess.

While Drewry was unable to accomplish the task of becoming a chaplain, due to her lack of experience and education but despite the Sacred Well Congregation’s want to back her in her endeavors, she did become a Distinctive Faith Group Leader (DFGL). These people, in addition to their regular military duties, act as voluntary liaisons between their particular faith groups and the local chaplain. She became a DFGL while serving in Korea under the aegis of the Sacred Well Congregation, and continued her services throughout her military career.

Though she was in the military at a time when gender discrimination was dwindling away, religious discrimination was still an obstacle Drewry had to overcome. As a DFGL, she was put on a list with her name, phone number, and religious affiliation, and she was investigated and harassed for having done so. She says later, “I chose not to fight this, just gave the chaplain my personal cell phone number instead.”

Drewry never pursued her ambitions to become a chaplain, instead being content in her place as a Distinctive Faith Group Leader. In fact, she was able to have Wiccans and other neo-Pagans recognized on a larger scale than the military imagined; while based in Iraq, she approached her area’s chaplains and identified herself as a DFGL, saying that she would like to show some semblance of support for the Wiccan population in the military. She posted her intentions on WitchVox , a community created for Witches, Wiccans, and neo-Pagans that provides information and articles related to neo-Pagan interests, and on Sacred Well’s mailing group in order to attract others who were interested in holding on-base rituals.

Today, Marci Drewry serves as the Director of Military Affairs for the Sacred Well Congregation.

Larsen exhibits the same military strictness as Drewry, following his commanding officers’ orders and bowing out of the military while blaming only himself for the stripping of his chaplaincy. He said he was naïve to think that he could switch from Pentecostalism to Wicca in the same way other military chaplains routinely change from one Christian denomination to another.

Others, however, beg to differ, such as Oringderff, who says that “Institutionalized bigotry and discrimination actions […] have crossed the line this time.”

Does the denial of Larsen’s transfer then his ultimate discharge from the United States Army constitute religious discrimination, thereby violating the First Amendment? According to the First Amendment Center, which focuses on identifying and revealing acts of basic human rights violations, religious discrimination is the only explanation for Larsen’s discharge:

The military’s stubborn refusal to recognize Wicca may have something to do with the firestorm of criticism that greeted news stories of Wiccan meetings on a Texas military base [in 1999]. Then-Gov. George W. Bush wanted the military to bar Wiccan ceremonies, saying, “I don’t think witchcraft is a religion.” Some outraged Christian conservative leaders called on Christians not to enlist or re-enlist as long as Wiccans were permitted to worship on U.S. bases.

[…]

For First Amendment purposes, however, it doesn’t matter what military officers or school principals or other government officials think about Wicca: It is their constitutional duty to protect the religious freedom of all Americans, including witches.

Charles C. Haynes, “Witch trials and tribulations in the land of the free”
http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org//commentary.aspx?id=18355&SearchString =don_larsen

This would also not be the first example of First Amendment violations made by the United States military. An almost ten-year long battle, often nicknamed the “Pentacle Quest” and headed by the Reverend Selena Fox of Circle Sanctuary with the help of Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, resulted in the pentacle finally becoming an approved emblem of belief that can be included on government-issued markers, headstones, and plaques to honor deceased veterans.

The pentacle, a common symbol for Wicca and other neo-Pagan faiths, is an encircled upright five-pointed star. It represents the elements of Earth, Air, Fire, Water, and Spirit, and is used in many neo-Pagan faiths as the most familiar of the many emblems of their belief system.

While the Quest began in the late 1990s, it became national news when Roberta Stewart, wife of her late husband Sgt. Patrick Stewart, who was killed in action in Afghanistan in Operation Enduring Freedom on 25 September 2005, joined the fight in February 2006. Both she and her husband are Wiccan, and while his friend, Chief Warrant Officer John Flynn, was honored with a cross for his Christian faith on his headstone for the same heroic duty during the Operation, Sgt. Stewart’s remained unmarked.

The case was delayed for several reasons, most of which involved bureaucratic paperwork and runarounds, including several rejections and requests for additions to be made to their applications. Many phone calls and requests for additional information also went unanswered.

Litigation began with the assistance of Americans United for the Separation of Church and State on 1 August 2006, when Roberta Stewart and Selena Fox signed legal agreements with AU attorneys in preparation for taking the case to court. To expedite the process and put more pressure on the VA, they also crafted a piece of federal legislation and pushed that through simultaneously.

Lawsuits were filed on 13 November 2006 for Circle Sanctuary v. Nicholson, W.D. Wisconsin No. 06-C-0660-S, and Circle Sanctuary v. Department of Veterans Affairs, Fed. Cir. No. 2007-7050, by the AU. These were additions to a suit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union, Egbert v. Nicholson, on 29 September 2006.

In response to these lawsuits, the VA was made to turn over more than 30,000 documents to the AU attorneys, including additional internal e-mails, memos, and other documents they had failed to release through the Freedom of Information Act requests they had made. Through these documents, AU attorneys were able to discern that the VA officials had blocked Pentacle approval for the headstones because of their prejudice against the Wiccan religion.

AU attorneys drafted an amended complaint that they had planned to file in the Federal District Court of Western Wisconsin using the interoffice information garnered, but upon the U.S. Department of Justice’s review of the amended complaint, they quickly began negotiating a settlement of the lawsuit. After two weeks of intense negotiations, both sides reach an agreement and signed the settlement papers, which were official at the judge’s signing the same day.

Within one business day, as agreed to by the AU and VA, the Pentacle was added to the emblems of belief list. Shortly following, Rev. Selena Fox accompanied Roberta Stewart as the pentacle was added to her late husband’s tombstone, the first ever pentacle to be emblazoned upon a VA marker.

The battle that was fought for that one simple freedom is an example of why our First Amendment is so vital to the equal recognition and acceptance of all religions. While the victory for Wiccans around the United States should very well be celebrated as a win for human rights, there is still a lot of progress to be made, especially when government agencies are involved. Though it is fairly certain that Larsen will not be an active proponent of any discrimination lawsuit that may arise from the lack of Wiccan representation in the military, he has said that he would do anything possible to help out with future causes in order to grant the same rights that other majority faiths have to those of his own.

Pagans have faced, and continue to face, systemic discrimination in their quest for religious representation. It is urged that the Armed Forces Chaplains Board accept the Sacred Well Congregation as a religious endorsing body so that the chaplain corps can better serve the needs of everyone in uniform, and to recognize that Wicca and all other faiths are best served when the United States adheres to the First Amendment as it would to all other faiths.

Larsen is currently serving for the National Guard in his home state of Texas.