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- The United States army has recognised
white witchcraft as a religion and has appointed chaplains to oversee pagan
ceremonies on at least five bases.
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- A Pentagon spokesman said yesterday that
there were believed to be at least 100 witches attending covens at Fort
Hood, Texas, the army's largest base with more than 42,000 troops. So respectful
has the army become of the pagan rites that security was increased at Fort
Hood's Boy Scout camp, where covens are held.
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- The move is to deter members of Christian
groups from intimidating the group. The pagans, called Wiccans, are accorded
the same privileges as practitioners of Christianity, Judaism and Islam.
They are encouraged to have their religious preference stamped on the metal
dog-tags each soldier wears.
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- Lt Col Donald Troyer, the Seventh Day
Adventist army chaplain who has been given responsibility for Fort Hood's
coven, admitted that he was not overjoyed with his job because fellow Christian
pastors disapproved and had been "cool" towards him. He said:
"It's such a volatile subject. It just sparks a fury."
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- The Pentagon says it has received several
requests for a posting to Fort Hood because it has such a large pagan congregation.
A spokesman said yesterday: "We are obliged by the Constitution to
respect and make provisions for the religious needs of members of the military
and not to pass judgments on their beliefs.
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- The Covenant of the Goddess, which claims
to represent most American Wiccans from its base in Berkeley, California,
says there are about 50,000 followers of the faith in America. They celebrate
earth-spirits such as the "great goddess Freya" and on their
altars give blessings to water, bread and salt, the three essentials of
life, while the congregation holds hands in a circle around a large bonfire.
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- Their main festivals are at the vernal
and autumnal equinox and at midsummer. However, sacrifices, either human
or animal, are not tolerated. One Wiccan said: "It is not something
we do."
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