Congress to Hear Testimony on Military Religious Freedom

A group of military religious freedom supporters — and at least one critic — will appear before the House Armed Services Personnel Subcommittee this week to testify on the state of religious liberty in the US military.

Advocates for military religious freedom invited to the hearing include

  • Michael Berry, Liberty Institute attorney who acted on behalf of cadets at the US Air Force Academy this year
  • Retired Chaplain (Col) Ron Crews, an outspoken advocate for military religious freedom
  • Travis Weber, Director of the Family Research Council’s Center for Religious Liberty, US Naval Academy graduate and former Naval aviator.

Their organizations are also part of the Restore Military Religious Freedom coalition.

On the critics side, Michael “Mikey” Weinstein has also been invited to testify. Weinstein has waged a self-described “war” on Christians in the US military, calling on the government to restrict religious freedom in the US military and even bar Christians from public service. (Weinstein specifically said Christians he disagrees with should not be allowed to serve in the US military.)  Weinstein — who is testifying at the request of the Democratic members of the panel — called the congressional invitation a “victory for [his] clients.” Presumably he would consider the invitations to Berry, Crews, and Weber victories for their agendas, as well.

Another witness will be Rabbi Bruce Kahn, a retired Navy Captain and Chaplain, a founding member of the Equal Rights Center, and an advocate for homosexual “rights.”

The session will be broadcast live at 0800 Eastern Time on Friday, 19 September.

Also at One News Now and the ADF.

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