Study Says There Are No Atheists in Foxholes

A study entitled “Death, Trauma and God: The Effect of Military Deployments on Religiosity” was covered at the Economist, in which the authors noted

According to a working paper published this week by Resul Cesur, Travis Freidman and Joseph Sabia, a trio of economists in America, there is some truth to the adage that there are no atheists in foxholes. Or rather, wartime trauma often makes people turn to God.

The article refers to two different analyses conducted in the study, in which

They find compelling evidence that those who have served in combat zones and directly engaged the enemy are more likely to attend religious services regularly than are those who have not.

There is some degree of Read more

Hanscom AFB Cites Military Atheists in Chaplain Article

Army Specialist Samuel Keenan of the Massachusetts National Guard recently wrote an article out of Hanscom AFB entitled “Getting in the foxhole: how chaplains serve nonreligious service members” — apparently a subtle play on the “no atheists in a foxhole” phrase.

In short, the article uses the example of Guard Air Force Chaplain (Capt) Derek White to show that chaplains serve everyone, even those without a religious faith:

“It doesn’t matter if they’re religious or if they have no religious preference,” said White. “The fact that I am the person that they feel they can share their life with… that’s a really great feeling…”

“Regardless of religious preference, or non-preference, everybody hits a wall with human limits,” said White. “Chaplains provide hope that the wall is not an obstacle that cannot be overcome.”

That’s a valid discussion — even if the “non-religious” issue feels somewhat forced to the exclusion of everything else. Based on the article, it seems Keenan, more than Chaplain White, focused on the non-religious aspect. There’s no clear reason why.

Unfortunately, Keenan relied on an “interesting” source for part of his article: Read more

Atheists Call on Defense Secretary Mattis to End Military Prayers

The Freedom From Religion Foundation and American Atheists sent a letter (PDF) yesterday to Secretary of Defense James Mattis calling on him to act to end “coerced religious observances” within the military.  Alison Gill and Rebecca Markert write that

The complainants allege, among other things, that facility organizers regularly include scheduled prayer in graduation ceremonies, cadets who opt not to attend worship services on Sundays are instead given menial tasks to perform, and instructors regularly lead recruits in prayers prior to administering tests.

The letter provides no examples. It appears to Read more

American Atheists File Lawsuit over Blessing of the Animals

A county-run animal shelter’s annual “Blessing of the Animals” is the subject of a federal lawsuit filed by American Atheists in New Jersey. As noted at the Religion Clause:

The complaint in American Atheists, Inc. v. Bergen County, objects to the use of public resources and employee time to promote and host a ritual that is performed by Franciscan clergy annually in honor of St. Francis of Assissi.

A member of the American Atheists — who knew about the blessing ceremony in advance — happened to show up in person (to adopt a pet, of course) just as the ceremony was occurring. Just in time to very conveniently be offended.

While a county pet shelter may not seem relevant to the US military, the contrived Read more

Atheists Demand End to Prayers at Pease Air National Guard Base

The Freedom From Religion Foundation has demanded that New Hampshire’s Pease Air National Guard (Facebook) base stop including prayer in association with official events:

A concerned guardsman informed FFRF that ceremonies at the Pease Air National Guard Base regularly have chaplains delivering invocations. These include readings from the bible and references to a Christian god. Attendance at these ceremonies is mandatory for all guardsmen.

The FFRF’s legal analysis was short and to the point:  Read more

Ironic Atheists Complain about “Spiteful” Christmas Displays

In an awkward and yet completely predictable move, an atheist activist is complaining that a Christmas sign was erected alongside an atheist “there are no gods” sign in Shelton, Connecticut.

Hemant Mehta, who works as the “Friendly Atheist” blogger, whined that the Christmas sign raised next to the anti-Christmas sign [emphasis added]

may seem innocuous enough — and perfectly legal — but it’s another sign of how little atheists are respected in the community…

Shelton Mayor Mark Lauretti couldn’t handle that atheist message, which is why he felt compelled to put up his own sign wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays…

While many atheists are content to let people say Merry Christmas and Read more

Military Atheists, Sexual Activists Torn over Mattis as SecDef

Military and veteran atheists, transgenders, and homosexuals are in conflict over President-elect Donald Trump’s decision to nominate retired Gen James Mattis for Secretary of Defense.

Military atheists have been generally supportive of Gen Mattis, noting he was wildly popular as a leader and, speaking to their primary concern, never gave them reason to worry over issues of religion.  (As an example of the conduct that helped his subordinates respect him, consider how he reacted when his pilots landed at the wrong airport.)

This has put some atheists at odds with their sometimes allies in the LGBT movement, who see Mattis as a potential means for Trump to undo their “progress” over the past few years — though they can’t directly connect it to a religious issue over which to complain.

That said, Don Branum, a former US Air Force Academy Public Affairs staffer who has implied he was improperly treated for speaking his views against Christians, still managed to claim Mattis is  Read more

US Army Posts “Under God,” Atheists Complain

The US Army 3rd Infantry Regiment — better known as The Old Guard — recently posted a US Army graphic by SPC Taylor Lutheran to Facebook which combined a photograph of President Obama at the Tomb of the Unknowns with a flag and the phrase “One Nation Under God:”

obamaundergod2

The image ended up irritating both “sides of the aisle,” as critics of President Obama questioned his acknowledgement of God, and critics of religion questioned Read more

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