Editor’s Note: This week, “The Wall of Separation” blog is featuring the essays and videos submitted by the winners of Americans United’s 2025 AU Student Contest, which asked high school and college students to reflect on this two-part prompt: How and why do religious and/or nonreligious groups, on their own or together, advocate for the separation of church and state? How have they been successful, and what does their example mean for present and future advocacy for the separation of church and state? You can find all of the winning essays and videos here. Submissions do not necessarily reflect the views of Americans United.
Goat sacrifices. Blood-drinking rituals. Candles circled in a forest clearing at the witching hour. That’s what most people imagine when they hear “Pagan,” or “Satanist,” or “Witch.” But the truth is much less dramatic. I, and many other Pagans, share the same values as many mainstream religious groups: spiritual freedom, community, respect for nature, and awareness of the consequences of one’s actions.
Like many other things, the media emphasizes what sells and silences what doesn’t, but the misconceptions this feeds are only one aspect of the problem that ultimately results in discrimination against religious minorities, like Pagans, in the military, workplace, schools, and prisons. Therefore, it is imperative to defend the separation of church and state with voices that can cut through the brush and branches of misunderstanding and ignorance.
For years, Pagans, secular allies, and interfaith coalitions have worked to keep one religion from dominating all others. Their efforts in court cases, public awareness campaigns, and religious‑freedom advocacy provide an example for how others can continue the struggle for Americans’ right to practice their beliefs without discrimination.
The roots of this advocacy run deep. When the government favors one religion through public land crosses, religious monuments in public areas, and school prayer requirements, those of us who follow a different spiritual path may be viewed as suspicious or even dangerous just for being in the public eye. That pressure shows up early. In one case, a Michigan high school banned a Wiccan student from wearing a pentagram until a lawsuit forced the district to lift the ban: an example of how institutional rules can strengthen unconscious bias unless challenged.
According to the Interfaith Alliance’s “Healthy Boundaries Between Religion and Government,” these episodes explain why nonreligious groups and minority-faith communities frequently form alliances: The separation of church and state is the common ground that prevents the government from policing beliefs and safeguards pluralism for all.
The most effective advocacy happens when coalitions or group alliances form. 2007’s Pentacle Quest is a prime example. After years of rejecting the Wiccan pentacle for military grave markers while approving many other symbols, the Department of Veterans Affairs agreed to add the pentacle to its official list of permitted emblems. The settlement came after coordinated work by the Lady Liberty League and Circle Sanctuary with Americans United for Separation of Church and State.
Courts have also affirmed that minority‑faith practitioners must be accommodated in closed institutions where people cannot simply “opt out.” In Cutter v. Wilkinson (2005), the U.S. Supreme Court held that Ohio prisons must respect inmates’ religious exercise, including Wiccan and other minority‑faith practices, under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA). Meanwhile, reporting on the Brandi Blackbear controversy shows how suspicion toward Pagan students can escalate into discipline and litigation, another reminder that rights often need to be defended both in public and in the court system.
Even with these wins, challenges persist. In the armed forces, for example, the pathway to chaplaincy depends on recognized endorsing bodies. Despite demand, Pagan chaplains are still uncommon because of a structural barrier: no Pagan organization is currently listed on the Department of Defense list of ecclesiastical endorsers. And beyond the military, state‑church conflicts continue to surface, such as efforts to mandate Ten Commandments displays in public school classrooms, often requiring new lawsuits from secular and interfaith coalitions to maintain neutrality.
The lesson for present and future advocacy is straightforward. First, form wide alliances: The pentacle case was successful because Pagan organizations joined forces with well-known church-state organizations, fusing legal knowledge with personal experience. The second tactic is to combine litigation and public education to promote legal rights and cultural awareness. Insist on formal recognition in government lists and policies, such as the VA’s emblem catalog, as this will prevent ad hoc exclusion later on.
Misconceptions about Pagans may linger like whispers in the wind, but the truth is more concrete and far more universal: Almost everyone wants the freedom to practice or not practice their beliefs without fear or interference. The separation of church and state is about ensuring no single tradition stands on a podium above the rest. The record, from school cases to prison rights to veterans’ headstones, shows that when minority‑faith communities, secular allies, and interfaith partners work together, religious coexistence is a result that can be read in court opinions, policy lists, and the names carved in stone long after their fight is over.
