1999-JUN-29: USA: Senator attacks religious rights of soldiers: According to the First Amendment Center: Last week, Senator Strom Thurmond (R-SC) submitted a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee suggesting that the religious freedoms of Wiccan soldiers be terminated. He wrote: "Army soldiers who consider themselves to be members of the Church of Wicca are carrying out their ceremonies at Fort Hood in Texas.  "The Wiccas [sic] practice witchcraft. At Fort Hood, they are permitted to build fires on Army property and perform their rituals involving fire, hooded robes, and nine inch daggers. An Army chaplain is even present...I do not dispute that individuals may believe what they wish, and they can practice their religion in private life. However, limits can and should be placed on the exercise of those views, especially in the military. I do not believe that the Armed Forces should accommodate the practice of witchcraft at military facilities. The same applies to the practices of other groups such as Satanists and cultists. For the sake of the honor and prestige of our military, there should be no obligation to permit such activity. This is an example of going too far to accommodate the practice of one's views in the name of religion." ₁

The national chairman of the Council of African Traditional Religion, Nokuzola Mndende, said: "If South Africans are true to their liberation, they must learn to be tolerant. It is the focus of religion to unite people - not to define others from one's own perspective."