Witches Want a Room of Their Own

0 Comments | Insight on the News, Sept 6, 1999 | by John Elvin

Wiccans stationed at Fort Bragg, N.C., have asked to be allowed to hold worship services on the post. Though the Coven of the Dragon Warriors group at the military base only has 10 or so members, an estimated 200 to 400 pagans are stationed at Fort Bragg. The group wants a room for services, plus a spot for outdoor functions such as full-moon rituals.

It is estimated that some 10,000 pagans are serving in the military. Their situation came to national attention when conservative groups protested a policy at Fort Hood in Texas allowing practice of the witchcraft cult, said to trace its roots to pre-Christian nature worship.

Some 13 military installations and two Navy ships are reported to allow Wiccan meetings, a policy that provoked conservative groups -- including the Free Congress Foundation, Christian Coalition, Traditional Values Coalition, American Family Association and several others -- to call for a ban. "An Army that sponsors satanic rituals is unworthy of representing the United States of America," said Paul Weyrich, president of Free Congress.