Though it seems they’re most often the object of Michael Weinstein’s criticism, cadets who organize into faith groups recently made the news for the positive event of coming together to support a local food bank.
Council members and chaplains spent two hours at Care and Share Food Bank of Southern Colorado packing and palletizing boxes for distribution to families in need of assistance.
Chaplain (Capt) Shawn Menchion received permission from Read more
The past month has seen a wide variety of articles from the US military showcasing its support of religious freedom — specifically, the accommodation of US military members celebrating Ramadan. Other articles have highlighted the US military’s “respect” for the Islamic holy month.
In Iraq, for example, an article describes the tenets of the Islamic faith and notes US General officers have been hosting nightly iftars, including General Lloyd Austin, commanding General of US Forces in Iraq:
To celebrate this very special religious month, various U.S. general officers have been hosting a post-dusk meal called an iftar…Iftar dinners are being hosted around the country as a way of showing support and appreciation to their Iraqi counterparts.
Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III [said] Read more
A few other media sources are catching up to Senator John Cornyn’s (R-TX) letter to the Secretary of the Air Force released on Monday.
Suspending a course like this because of references to religious texts misinterprets the First Amendment. [The Constitution] does not, as some have argued, protect them from exposure to religious references.
(Some continue to use the word “misrepresents,” though the published letter says “misinterprets.”)
Michael Weinstein’s MRFF — which claims a Constitutional Read more
Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) has expressed “concern” over the Air Force’s response to complaints over religious content in an ICBM training course.
Suspending a course like this because of references to religious texts misinterprets the First Amendment. Although our Founding Fathers rightly included language in the Constitution that precludes the Federal government from establishing an official religion, this language does not, as some have argued, protect them from exposure to religious references… Read more
“They truly serve God and country…”
Despite some military atheists’ assertions that Chaplains aren’t permitted on the frontlines, CNN covers the US Army’s training of Chaplains at Fort Jackson for their service…on the frontlines.
In an article entitled “Preparing clergy for war: army chaplains train by the hundred for the combat zone,” CNN highlights the hundreds of Chaplains preparing Read more
Speaking for Michael Weinstein and his Military Religious Freedom Foundation, Chris Rodda recently went on the offensive against Officers’ Christian Fellowship, a Christian military ministry. (This isn’t really new. Rick Baker lists virtually every Christian ministry in existence in his frequent diatribes against religious freedom in the military.) Rodda’s write-up sounds like the intro to a Twilight Zone episode:
Throughout the US military…lurks an organization of over 15,500 fundamentalist Christian military officers who think their real duty is not to protect and defend the Constitution, but to raise up “a spiritually transformed military, with ambassadors for Christ in uniform, empowered by the Holy Spirit.” These officers belong to an organization called the Officers’ Christian Fellowship (OCF)…
(Rodda later gives a second nod to the Twilight Zone with the Read more
A group of trainees at the US Air Force basic training at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, was photographed in a religious training event that has raised the ire of a religious watchdog.
On the first Sunday in August a representative of Harun Yahya was allowed, following an invitation from the Muslim chaplain at Lackland, Captain Sharior Rahman, to present two classes: a morning one on “The Collapse of Darwinism and the Fact of Creation” and an evening one covering “Miracles in the Qur’an.”
Dr. Timothy Furnish of Family Security Matters has made it his purpose in life to track the “mahdi movement” (loosely paraphrased, the messianic side of Islam), of which Harun Yahya is a part. Furnish obtained photographs of basic trainees sitting through a class on these Islamic studies: Read more
Navy Chaplain (CAPT) Michael A. Mikstay recently provided a succinct summary of the role of the military Chaplaincy:
Mikstay may be a Catholic priest, but as a Navy chaplain he facilitates religious services for troops of all beliefs.
“When you get down to it, the primary reason we have military chaplains in any of the services is because our nation is adamant about the fact that we provide for the free exercise of religion,” Mikstay said. Read more