Recently the United States Postal Service announced that they will be issuing a stamp commemorating Mother Teresa for her humanitarian work. They plan to release the stamp in August, which would coincide with the hundredth anniversary of Mother Teresa's birth. The Freedom From Religion Foundation has vocally criticised the USPS, saying the stamp violates the agency's own regulations.

The FFRF says, specifically, that issuing the stamp is in conflict with a postal regulation which reads, "stamps or stationery items shall not be issued to honor religious institutions or individuals whose principal achievements are associated with religious undertakings or beliefs."

The USPS says, however, that the stamp is being issued in honor of Mother Teresa's "fifty years of service to "the sick and destitute of India and the world," as well as her "humility and compassion" and "respect for the innate worth and dignity of humankind."

Part of me sees where the FFRF is coming from -- sure, she was a Catholic nun, so certainly many of her undertakings were associated with her religious vocation. However, Mother Teresa was also a woman who saved the lives of thousands of people and offered a great deal of spiritual comfort to the sick and destitute. That's got to be worth something, no matter what religion she was. The fact that she was a nun, or that she believed she was doing God's work, shouldn't be used a way to diminish her legacy of work. She won the Nobel Peace Prize, for goodness' sake.

As an example, Rev. Martin Luther King was a spiritual leader, and yet he was also instrumental in the civil rights movement, and that is why there are postage stamps honoring him. Father Edward Flanagan, the founder of the Boys' Town orphanage, has a stamp honoring his work with children, and he was a Catholic priest.

Normally I'm on the same page as the FFRF folks, but I think this time around they might have missed the mark. What do the rest of you think? Should the USPS go ahead and honor Mother Teresa with a stamp for her humanitarian work, or should they cancel it because she happens to be a religious icon?

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There has been all sorts of discussion this week about the newly-opened Pagan worship circle at the Air Force Academy, by military officials say that at this point, there's no plan to create a similar facility at the Naval Academy in Annapolis. A report from the Hometown Annapolis website says that Navy officials say they simply haven't had a demand for such a thing. Judy Campbell, an academy spokeswoman said, "At this time, there have been no requests for a worship location for earth-centered religions."

Campbell added that midshipmen at the Academy are welcome to participate any worship services they like, but are not obligated to do so.

Now, one could probably argue that the reason no one has ever asked for a Pagan worship site at the Naval Academy is because they probably never thought they'd get one. The military -- despite attempts lately to be inclusive on paper -- it still an instituation that isn't exactly tolerant of non-mainstream faiths. However, now that the Air Force Academy has set a precendent, it's certainly possible that the Naval Academy could be approached by a group of Pagan staff members or midshipmen and asked to provide some sort of worship area for those who follow earth-based paths.

Although there's no accurate count of how many practicing Pagans are in the military at this time, it's a safe bet that they number in the "several thousands" range among active duty members. Statistically speaking, that means that there can easily be a few hundred staff and/or cadets or midshipmen at military training facilities in general.

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We've talked before about Pagans who have found themselves on the wrong end of a zoning case and who have wondered if it's really the zoning issue at play or their religion. For example, last year a Connecticut man asked for a variance on a home he was building, and neighbors flipped their lids because it might lead to OMG THERE'S A PAGAN CHURCH. In another case, DesMoines city officials asked a couple to remove Pagan symbols they'd painted on a fence, saying the symbols violated local ordinances.

Now an interesting case has surfaced in Carroll County, Georgia. Robert Crowe asked officials to approve a conditional use permit which would allow him to use his 33-acre property as a retreat for the Church of the Spiral Tree. The permit was denied by the Planning and Zoning Board, and Crowe says it's because board members don't approve of Spiral Tree's Pagan religion.

However, Commissioner George Chambers says the denial had nothing to do with the group's religion. He said the permit was denied because there are currently storage units on the property being used as temporary housing. The storage units are not zoned for residential use. Chambers added, "It wasn't an issue of whether or not I agreed with their beliefs or what they do on the land as part of their church. My issue is not with that because the current zoning allows for that. My issue was with the houses."

So, is this a case of anti-Pagan discrimination down South? Or is it legitimate denial of a permit that's being blamed on religious intolerance?

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A Dallas pastor is warning folks that the creation of a Pagan worship circle at the Air Force Academy in Colorado is "inviting God's judgment upon our nation." Dr. Robert Jeffress, pastor of First Baptist Church of Dallas, says that what we call pluralism and equality for people of all faiths is really just a bunch of idolatry that's going to earn us some fiery wrath.

Jeffries says he acknowledges that the Constitution guarantees the right to freedom of religion, but he added that it "does not require government to provide a stone monument to facilitate that worship - even if the same government provides a chapel for Christians."

Translation: "You can have all the religious freedom you want, as long as we approve of your religion."

Honestly, I'm amazed by how upset people are getting over the fact that the Academy is willing to treat people of non-Christian faiths equally. Is it really so unreasonable that Pagans would like to have a place where they too can honor their gods and practice their faith? Would this even be an issue if it was some other group besides Pagans? Yet again, people like Jeffries fail to realize that religious equality means equality for all religions, even those which go against your group's dogma.

Jeffries, like so many other people who view the world through the Dominant Religion Lens Filter, assumes that everyone's really worried about inviting God's judgment.

It should also be noted that the other day, it was revealed that a large wooden cross was left at the site, an event which may end up being investigated as a hate crime.

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