The federal government of the U.S. does not "authenticate" religions at all. It's not like Scandinavia or even parts of Canada where a religion has to meet government approval in order to be recognized as such. (The process in Ontario is 25 years long.)
I DO see what many wiccans go through as persecution. If you can't have your religious holidays off, have your religious symbol on your tombstone after dying in your country's service, or otherwise are denied validation for your faith, it's persecution. It might not be violent, but it's still persecution.
Oh, and atheists can be buried under a carved atom as a "religious" symbol but a wiccan can't be buried with a pentagram? Excuse me?
Re: ranty-rant-rant
I DO see what many wiccans go through as persecution. If you can't have your religious holidays off, have your religious symbol on your tombstone after dying in your country's service, or otherwise are denied validation for your faith, it's persecution. It might not be violent, but it's still persecution.
Oh, and atheists can be buried under a carved atom as a "religious" symbol but a wiccan can't be buried with a pentagram? Excuse me?