RELIGIOUS REQUIREMENTS AND PRACTICES
of Certain Selected Groups
A HANDBOOK FOR CHAPLAINS (1993)
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The work involved in developing and producing this handbook was performed pursuant to contract number MDA903-90-C-0062 with the Department of Defense by
THE INSTITUTE FOR THE STUDY OF AMERICAN RELIGION
J. Gordon Melton, Project Director. James R. Lewis, Senior Research Associate
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DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY - OFFICE OF THE CHIEF OF CHAPLAINS - WASHINGTON, D.C. 20310-2700
Nothing herein, including all internet links, shall be construed to reflect the official position, policy or endorsement of the Department of the Army, or of the Chief of Army Chaplains regarding the organization, beliefs, or doctrine of the religious groups described in this manual. It contains information on these selected religious groups provided by the groups themselves. Errors or changes may be reported through official channels to the Chief of Army Chaplains....There is no endorsement of any kind for these sites and DOD takes no responsibility for their content.
WICCA
ADDRESS: No central address. Wiccan worship groups, called covens, are essentially autonomous. Many, but far from all, have affiliated with: Covenant of the Goddess, P.O. Box 1226, Berkeley, CA 94704
OTHER NAMES BY WHICH KNOWN: Witchcraft; Goddess worshipers; Neo-Paganism, Paganism, Norse (or any other ethnic designation) Paganism, Earth Religion, Old Religion, Druidism, Shamanism. Note: All of these groups have some basic similarities and many surface differences of expression with Wicca.
LEADERSHIP: No central leadership. The Covenant of the Goddess annually elects a First Officer and there is a constitutional limit of two consecutive terms, but in practice officers have almost always served for one year only. In 1991, there are two co-First Officers, Phoenix White Birch and Brandy Williams.
MEMBERSHIP: Because of the complete autonomy of covens, this cannot be determined. There are an estimated of 50,000 Wiccans in the United States.
HISTORICAL ORIGIN: Wicca is a reconstruction of the Nature worship of tribal Europe, strongly influenced by the living Nature worship traditions of tribal peoples in other parts of the world. The works of such early twentieth century writers as Margaret Murray, Robert Graves and Gerald B. Gardner began the renewal of interest in the Old Religion. After the repeal of the anti Witchcraft laws in Britain in 1951, Gardner publicly declared himself a Witch and began to gather a group of students and worshipers.
In 1962, two of his students Raymond and Rosemary Buckland (religious names: Lady Rowen and Robat), emigrated to the United States and began teaching Gardnerian Witchcraft here. At the same time, other groups of people became interested through reading books by Gardner and others. Many covens were spontaneously formed, using rituals created from a combination of research and individual inspiration. These self-created covens are today regarded as just as valid as those who can trace a "lineage" of teaching back to England.
In 1975, a very diverse group of covens who wanted to secure the legal protections and benefits of church status formed Covenant of the Goddess (CoG), which is incorporated in the State of California and recognized by the Internal Revenue Service. CoG does not represent all, or even a majority of Wiccans. A coven or an individual need not be affiliated with CoG in order to validly practice the religion. But CoG is the largest single public Wiccan organization, and it is cross-Traditional (i.e. non-denominational).
