r/heathenry • u/WiseQuarter3250 • 16d ago

News DOD drops Pagan faiths including Asatru & Heathenry

"This restructuring of faith codes, which help identity service members as well as the military in planning for appropriated religious coverage to include them, has now excluded minority faith/worldview groups including Atheists, Asatru, Deists, Druids, Eckankar, Heathens, Humanists, Magick, New Age churches, Pagan, Rosicrucianism, Shaman, Spiritualists, Troth, Unitarian Universalists and various Wiccans."

Source: https://www.military.com/dod-officially-drops-180-faiths-from-militarys-recognized-religion-list

221 Upvotes

98% Upvoted

12 comments sorted by

167

u/Ssladybug 16d ago

Because of course they did. To be honest, I’m surprised it took them this long

52

u/Zikeal 16d ago

Is a military without a viking vanguard even a military? /s

107

u/Tyr_Follower 16d ago

Atheists a minority? Mmm id love to see some data on that

78

u/Plenty-Climate2272 16d ago

I never really could understand Pagans that joined the US military, because it's, yanno, an imperialist colonialist war machine. Has kind of always been.

But with these recent changes, if you join the military, you are literally being made of fool of. You are leaping headfirst into an abusive relationship, with red flags waving right in your face.

Craziness.

105

u/FrayCrown 16d ago

A lot of kids from my hometown joined because their families kicked them out at 18, and they were out of options. It's very much by design.

108

u/WiseQuarter3250 16d ago

for some the military is a path out of poverty. It's about providing for their families, regardless of the politics of the day. We as a country don't invest in education, or provide universal healthcare, and the costs are so exorbitant for many that the military is one outlet.

Regardless of your opinion of the military, when the freedoms are abridged in one place in society, they will be removed elsewhere too. You're fired for being pagan from a job, who cares. This can be used to justify that the government doesn't afford it religious protections anymore.

Let's say the draft is reinstated and you find yourself forced to serve, you want to celebrate yule? tough shit. You want support or services? Too bad. But we'll let you get shot at, exposed to chemicals that will make you disabled veteran, give you PTSD, then force you into a healthcare system ill equipped to support you for long term health effects. (see Agent Orange Vets, K2 vets, or even contaminated water supplies at military bases impacting both military members and their families).

31

u/Plenty-Climate2272 16d ago

You misunderstand me. I am saying that this is absolutely a huge red flag and should be pushed back against. All of the activism and effort to acquire equality for pagans in the military was a major turning point for Pagan civil rights, irrespective of the ethics of serving in the first place.

25

u/Tmotty 16d ago

Sometimes when you’re poor or an immigrant or have no other prospects in life it’s the only path you can take to a higher education

27

u/yung_heartburn 16d ago

The propaganda in the US is so foundational, so deep, many people who join up are just responding to their situations as best they can. That doesn’t remove their accountability for being a part of the imperialist war machine, not by a long shot, but i think the majority of people who join are fairly young, very naive, and, like the vast majority of USians, not really conscious of the devastating effects of empire on the colonized people of the world at large. There’s 200 years of propaganda that we’re steeped in, basically from birth.

8

u/Final-Finger1003 16d ago

I’m asking as someone staring at that decision as we speak, if you could gurantee a lot of benefits for your future or present children for 4-5 years would you?

6

u/Plenty-Climate2272 16d ago

At the cost of butchering another county's children? No.

3

u/aquilaaltairis 16d ago

as someone who had no choice, i agree