Paganism is the fastest growing religious group in the British Armed Forces, The Telegraph can reveal. Followers of the pagan faiths, who typically sport beards as a lifestyle choice, numbered 660 ...

Some interpretations of the faiths may suggest beards have religious significance. Notable pagans including Arthur Pendragon, a senior druid who served in the British Army, have welcomed both the ...

The rule allowed exceptions for religious beards, though no player ever claimed one. Still, it could be argued, and it has, that the policy was an overreach, on freedom-of-worship grounds.