Air Force Pagans: Earth warriors

Pagan warriors for the earth? The recognition by the U.S. military of various Earth-centered, Pagan and Wiccan sects as valid religious and spiritual systems is good news for those of us who value freedom of religion, as well as freedom from religion. The acceptance of a circle of rocks as a sacred site on an Air Force base in Colorado is also great news, because it reflects the earliest religious ideation about which we know: To wit, the most ancient religious concepts revolve around nature, constituting the reverence and worship of the sun, moon, stars, constellations, planets, Earth, wind, water, etc. This nature worship was dominated by what is called “astrotheology,” a fascinating body of knowledge dating back many thousands of years and prevalent but largely hidden in our “modern” religions of today.

Neo-Pagans Get Worship Circle at Air Force Academy

Wiccan cadets and officers on the Colorado Springs base have been convening for over a decade, but the school will officially dedicate a newly built circle of stones on about March 10, putting the outdoor sanctuary on an equal footing with the Protestant, Catholic, Jewish and Buddhist chapels on the base.

“When I first arrived here, Earth-centered cadets didn’t have anywhere to call home,” said Sgt. Robert Longcrier, the lay leader of the neo-pagan groups on base….

Air Force Academy creates worship area for pagans, Druids, Wiccans

The Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs is establishing a worship area for followers of Earth-centered religions — Wiccans, Druids, witches, pagans — on a hill overlooking the campus, the USAFA says.

The chief of the academy has made religious tolerance a priority after 2004 a survey of cadets found instances of harassment, the Air Force Times reports….

Naturally, Christians just could not leave them alone, and someone vandalized the site by putting up a wooden cross, apparently after this story aired.

Cross left Colo. AF Academy Pagan worship site

An Air Force Academy staffer who helped build a worship area for Pagans and other Earth-centered religions says he and others are the victims of a hate crime because someone placed a wooden cross at their site….

Perhaps the Pagan ideals and morals will “trickle up” to members of the more sizeable religions/cults such as Christianity and Islam – these would include being good stewards of Earth as well as peacekeepers.