Rep. Bob Barr’s anti-Wicca campaign has not been effective. A prepared Statement from the Coordinator of the Military Pagan Network, Inc.  

Ellicott City, MD May 30, 1999- Over the course of the past two weeks, Rep. Bob Barr (R-GA) has added the removal of Wiccan services from military bases to his political agenda. The response from the Neopagan community nationwide has been phenomenal. We have been networking with colleagues, contacting Congressman and getting the word out to the public that if he succeeds it will be a major blow, not just to Neopagan rights, but everyone’s rights.

As the Coordinator of the Military Pagan Network, I too have responded to Mr. Barr's statements with a press release from MPN, a personal letter to Mr. Barr, interviews with the BBC and Christianity Today, and an up coming interview with NPR. However, I have not gotten too worked up nor is MPN preparing for a battle with Congress over freedom of religion. Why? Because Bob Barr has been unable to effect any changes in the military, or influence any one in Congress. He has gotten a few civilian churches riled up and they have been protesting, but the military does not respond to public opinion. It would take an Executive Order or act of Congress to get the military to change its regulations, actions that Barr can not get accomplished.

Lets take a moment to look at what the military has in place to govern religious practice on military bases. At the highest level there is the Constitution of the United States. This document will prevent anyone from ever making laws that prevent freedom of worship. Next there is Department of Defense Directive 1300.17 Accommodation of Religious Practices Within the Military Services, dated February 3, 1988. This directive outlines how the military will accommodate religious practice, the opening policy statement says:

A basic principle of our nation is free exercise of religion. The Department of Defense places a high value on the rights of members of the Armed Forces to observe the tenets of their respective religions. It is DoD policy that requests for accommodation of religious practices should be approved by commanders when accommodation will not have an adverse impact on military readiness, unit cohesion, standards or discipline.

In that very statement it gives the military the authority to deny religious accommodation based on specified criteria. With there being 13 known bases holding services or study groups it is safe to assume that the military has already done the research and determined that Neopaganism does not have "an adverse impact on military readiness, unit cohesion, standards or discipline." I think that if Barr was correct and Wicca threatened to erode military discipline, the military would have already dealt with it.

Taking into consideration his most recent statement that elected officials should determine what religions could be practiced in military bases, I still do not see a reason to continue to pretend that Bob Barr is a threat to our religious liberty in the service. He is an individual with no visible support in Congress, who has had no effect on how the military accommodates faith groups, and is just riding the wave of hysteria that is building in the Neopagan community. Let's allow that wave to crash and watch as Mr. Barr fades away.

Founded in 1992,incorporated in 1997 the Military Pagan Network Inc. acted as a store and group information resource for Neopagans in the military. The corporation now provides material regarding various Neopagan religions to the Chaplaincy, as well as fulfilling its original goal of providing contacts near military bases around the world. In 1997 the corporation expanded its services to include assisting military members with the proper handling of harassment and discrimination. In 1999 the IRS gave the Military Pagan Network, Inc. tax exempt status in accordance with Internal Revenue Code 501(c)3.

Note to editors: If you are interested in viewing additional information on MPN, please visit the MPN website at http://www.milpagan.org/ .
Copyright 1999, Military Pagan Network Inc.

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