The case of the widow of a National Guard airman who wants to honor her late husband by placing a Wiccan symbol on the memorial wall at the Northern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Fernley is a poignant example of the folly of mixing church and state.

Under the current federal policy, Roberta Stewart is not allowed to place the pagan symbol on the wall because the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs does not currently list the five-pointed star as an "emblem of belief." As it now stands, only approved graphics, including the Christian cross and Buddhist wheel of righteousness, are allowed on the wall.

This is obviously religious discrimination, and we predict it is only a matter of time before the courts reverse the VA's position, if the agency does not see the light on its own accord.

Religious freedom, of course, is one of the most fundamental and cherished principles guaranteed citizens of the United States. Indeed, the freedom to worship as they pleased is the main reason our forefathers set sail from England to the Americas "to form a more perfect union."

With good reason, the founding fathers decided not to establish an official or state-sanctioned religion, even though the vast majority of Americans ascribe to Judeo-Christian beliefs. Though the U.S. Constitution contains several passages providing for separation of church and state, signs and symbols from American's Christian tradition show up in all kinds of government instruments and institutions, from "In God We Trust" on the back of a dollar bill to "One Nation Under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance to the 10 Commandments at Fallon City Hall and the cross on city-owned property on Rattlesnake Hill.

Americans hardly give a second thought to a Catholic priest or Baptist minister doing a wedding, baptism or funeral in a public school, auditorium or park. But when the wife of a fallen airman can't even put a symbol of her faith on his memorial, that's an indication that perhaps freedom of religion in the United States isn't as free as we would like to think. Imagine the hue and cry if the Wiccans wanted to hold one of their ceremonies in a publicly owned building.

As far as we know, there are no disclaimers in the Constitution that guarantee religious freedom as long as it is in concert with the beliefs of the majority.