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Wearing a pentagram in public?
I am 13 year old female and a Wiccan. I have a pentagram choker I recently bought and am considering to start wearing it. I'm going on vacation to the beach in a couple days, so I won't be wearing it that often because of the ocean and the such, however tomorrow I'm getting my nails painted. My mother has no problem with Wicca or me wearing it, however my family is mostly Christian. Most my town's areas are Jewish majority and Christians and Muslims tie in second however there is a fair amount of atheists. I'm not trying to generalize, but based off my experience atheists are chill and don't care at all, Muslims are definetly the most "anti-other faiths" however I've met completely chill ones and those who keep it to themselves, however there is this one obnoxious Muslim boy. Christians vary greatly although most of them seem to hold beliefs about old religions being satanic and those who do unlike the bad Muslims do not keep it to themselves they don't care (honestly I feel there is a lot of entitlement amongst Christians), Jews greatly vary mainly because there are a lot, and I mean a lot, like there are 4 main parts of my town, 2/4 have Jewish majority, and probably 99% I have only met two non Jews from those areas and they're both from the same family. And it's a choker, so I can't just hide it underneath my shirt. I live in New York. I don't have much experience however once I drew a pentagram on a book mark and a girl attempted to erase it. I told her to leave it alone, it's not her bookmark, and she quit it. I also know she is Christian, and once we were doing a video project together and she removed her crucifix charm on her bracelet because she felt it was innapropriate because it's school. The beach I'm going to is in New Jersey. I don't know much about laws regarding these type of things other than my first amendedment right to freedom of religion and expression. I have yet to see my principal or vice principals order Muslim students to take of their Hijabs or anything of that sort. But I do know some people take the pentagram as some sort of gang symbol, I'll have to check my dress code again as school starts not to far away for me. Most kids break the dress code very noticeably anyway. And I spent money on it I intend to wear it! What is your guys knowledge on discrimination (or lack of) for wearing a pentagram in public, specifically America, and preferably New York?
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Dear 13 year old female, Wiccan:
Wearing a pentagram choker is making a statement about you. However, most people will either not notice or they will ignore it. There are a few ignorant souls that will act judgementally. You must always respond to them with style and grace. Usually, you need not respond with more than just a friendly smile. Don't argue!
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You into an area that is both easy to define as well as difficult to define. I know that is about as clear as mud right. Let's see if I can clear the waters a bit for you.
What is extremely clear and guaranteed by the constitution is your right to practice your religion as you choose. There is no argument there. One would thing there is no exception to this,, but there are. The main exception is going to be in school. While the Pentagram is very much the symbol of your religion just as the Cross or Star of David is to Christians and Jew respectively. Your right to wear your religious symbol in school may be infringed upon because of the other symbolic representations the pentagram has.
Is this right. Unfortunately this is both a yes and no answer. The schools have the right to restrict anything that may disrupt the school's purpose. If they deem the pentagram more a disruption than a symbol of your religion then they can ban it. The basis hopefully would be made based on the number of Wiccans attending your school. Unfortunately knowing full well where you live you are a minority religion and you could be told not to wear your choker. Your only recourse then would be to take the school to court to obtain a court order. This would be a long costly fight by which time you would be finished with college and probably raising a family of your own.
As for going to the beach. If it is a public beach you have every right to wear your choker. Understand that others may not like it and you could be harassed even harmed.
My advice is to seek the advice of you Wiccan leadership. They know you best as well as the communities you live in and wish to visit. They should be able to tell when and where to wear your choker.
I had a customer that was a Wiccan. A very nice lady who I enjoyed calling an and whose company I enjoyed many times for lunch. I did not learn of her choice of religion at her place of work as there was no evidence to her religious leanings. It was over lunch one day that she told me about being a Wiccan.
Because of where she works, lives and the misconceptions people have of Wiccans she kept her religion very private. I see nothing wrong with your choice of religion and you have every right to be proud of yourself and your religion. I would advice given your age and how nasty other students can be towards things they do not understand that you consider keeping your religion private until you are older and out of high school.
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