Chris Cranmer is now allowed to perform Satanic rituals on board the HMS Cumberland after being officially recognised as a Satanist by the ship's captain.
Defending the decision to allow a Satanist among the Royal Navy's ranks, a ministry spokesman said it was an "equal opportunities employer" and did not discriminate against specific religious beliefs.
"He went to his commanding officer with a request to practise his beliefs on board his ship and it was granted ... We
believe he is the first avowed Satanist to serve in the military, but there is no official register of beliefs," the
spokesman said.
Cranmer, 24, from Edinburgh, Scotland would be allowed to have a funeral carried
out by the Church of Satan should he be killed in action.
The Church of Satan was founded in the 1960s, but Satanism can refer to a diverse set of practices that include viewing
Satan as a force of nature.
Members of the church, which rejects Christian ideas of God and the Devil, follow 11 Satanic Rules of the Earth.
The belief system has been condemned as a cult by some religious groups and at least one opposition politician expressed dismay after Cranmer won permission to practise
Satanism aboard a Royal Navy ship.
"I am utterly shocked by this," said Conservative MP Anne Widdecombe.
"Satanism is wrong. Obviously the private beliefs of individuals anywhere including the armed forces are their own affair but I hope it doesn't spread," she said.
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