‘‘We want soldiers to feel safe enough and free enough to worship without being harassed for their beliefs,’’ said MacNeill, a former Army sergeant.

The Wiccan issue hasn’t gone unnoticed at Fort Bragg.

‘‘Everybody is concerned for the fact that this can be a controversial and sensitive issue for some people,’’ said Lt. Col. Sam Boone, Fort Bragg’s garrison chaplain. He met last week with MacNeill to discuss the application process for religious groups who want to worship on post.

The 10-member coven is asking for a place on Fort Bragg to hold its outdoor ceremonies and festivals and a room for study groups.

The Wiccans, who call themselves witches, practice Wicca, a pagan religion more than 2,000 years old and often referred to as witchcraft.

Wicca was federally recognized as a religion in the United States in the 1960s.

Wiccans say Wicca is a nature-based religion and is not to be feared.

‘‘All we want is to live in peace and love,’’ MacNeill said.

But some pastors view Wicca as a dangerous influence on the community and do not want to see the group established on post.

‘‘I don’t see the justification rising to the level of approval and acceptance of this group,’’ said Dr. Bruce Martin, senior pastor of Village Baptist Church, one of the largest Southern Baptist churches in Fayetteville.

‘‘Good witches and bad witches all fall into the same pot,’’ he said. ‘‘To talk about good witches is like talking about good cocaine. There’s no such thing.’’

Officials at Fort Bragg said they will adhere to Army regulations and will not make a decision until the proper paperwork is received from the Wiccans.

Boone said the Wiccans’ application will be approved or disapproved on its own merit.

Hortin said he does not believe the Wiccans practicing their religion on post would affect those who live and work on Fort Bragg.

Maj. Scott Ross, Hortin’s boss, said Hortin’s letter represented personal views and did not represent the views of Fort Bragg or the 18th Airborne Corps’ public affairs office.

Application hurdlesThe Wiccans would like to be on post by winter, but their application process won’t be easy.

They must first establish that the needs of Wiccan soldiers can’t be met elsewhere, Boone said.

Like other religious groups who want to worship on post, the Wiccans must have a church sponsor.

The sponsor must be recognized by the Armed Forces Chaplains’ Board or recognized as a tax-exempt religious organization by the Internal Revenue Service.

Not many Wiccan groups have applied for tax-exempt status. The Sacred Well Congregation in San Antonio is an exception.

Dr. David Oringderff, an Army retiree, is cofounder and executive director of the congregation. It sponsors seven military Wiccan circles on military installations, including a group at Fort Hood, Texas, that made national headlines in May.

The congregation has 700 members throughout the world. About a third are military and 30 to 40 are stationed at Fort Bragg, Oringderff said.

Oringderff, who has not had contact with the Coven of the Dragon Warriors, said his congregation is selective in whom it sponsors because Wiccan traditions are as diverse as Christian denominations.

‘‘We have an established reputation and competence with the military and we jealously guard that,’’ he said. ‘‘It’s harder to get through our hoops than the military’s.’’

And there is another hurdle. The Fort Bragg Wiccans must be sponsored by a chaplain.

Although it is an assigned position, the chaplain sponsor is a volunteer. His duties include supervising the group, attending some worship services and holding quarterly meetings.

It’s a chaplain’s job -- regardless of his religious denomination or faith -- to be responsive to the needs of the troops in his assigned units.

‘‘We neither endorse nor reject,’’ Boone said. ‘‘We support the soldier if the needs meet Army regulations.’’

But Army regulations sometimes go against the teachings of a chaplain’s personal religion.

‘‘Every chaplain has to answer how far he is willing to go with his own conscience,’’ Boone said. He said if a chaplain feels he cannot support the spiritual needs of a soldier because of his own religious beliefs, it is time for him to leave the Army and become a civilian pastor.

Concern in the barracks        
Pastors said they are concerned about witchcraft in the barracks and the effect it could have on young soldiers.

Sgt. Sergio Navarro, a 21-year-old artillery man who lives in the barracks, doesn’t know of any Wiccans in his unit.

‘‘It’s not that big a deal to me because I’m not around it,’’ he said. ‘‘If there was a Wiccan in my unit, that would be a different story.’’

Navarro, a Catholic, said some soldiers in the barracks might be easily attracted to Wicca. ‘‘They would think it was the cool thing to do,’’ he said.

Wiccans said that unlike some other religions, they do not recruit members.

Rejecting intolerance       
Pastors who oppose Wicca say they are not intolerant.

‘‘What they call intolerance in us is nothing more than us reflecting the values we stand for,’’ Martin said.

‘‘We’re not a bunch of intolerant bigots,’’ said the Rev. Michael Fletcher of Manna Church.

Fletcher said Fayetteville’s churches have provided millions of dollars over the years to help Fayetteville’s needy -- regardless of their religion.

Fletcher said that 10 years ago a Wiccan group cast a spell on his 1,600-member nondenominational congregation.

He said a Celtic symbol, which he declined to identify, was left on the property of the church.

‘‘In my gut, I sensed something was wrong here,’’ he said. ‘‘I just knew something was wrong.’’

Fletcher said that after a few phone calls, he was told by a Wiccan leader that members that had separated from the coven cast the spell.

‘‘Why would they attack our church?’’ he asked. ‘‘Why a church?’’

Fletcher said many in the occult got their start in Wicca.

‘‘Wicca is like the foyer,’’ he said. ‘‘It begins with white witchcraft.’’

‘‘We are not a gateway to anything,’’ MacNeill said. ‘‘We are a religion.’’