Tag Archives: religious freedom

USAFA Cadets Discuss Faith, Freedom, Proselytizing

One of the results of the religious “scandals” that have plagued the US Air Force Academy over the past few years was the creation of the Cadet Interfaith Council.  The CIC was the subject of the latest USAFA news article on religious expression and diversity at the Academy.

The 20-member cadet group serves as a focal point for religious issues in the cadet wing.  Current president Cadet 2nd Class Philicia Fahrenbruch notes the Council helped ‘protect’ the time set aside for SPIRE on Monday evenings last year, and has helped deal with other issues since then.

Some of the topics noted in the article highlight the continued sensitivity of religion at the Air Force Academy:  Read more

Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell: The Military Christian’s Perspective

The ongoing public debate over homosexuality and the US military (most often referred to as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”) presents a unique conflict for Christians in the military.  There are those who believe homosexuality is morally wrong and must be prohibited at every possibility, and there are those who believe people have the freedom to do as they please in their private lives.  This situation has implications from both the Christian perspective and the military perspective (in isolation), though they must be integrated to form the military Christian’s perspective.  Each of these three is addressed individually below.

The Christian Perspective

The Christian faith considers homosexuality a sin, just as theft, adultery, murder, and lust are sins.  Still, Christianity does not condemn the person who expresses a homosexual preference.  In addition, while many people in this world are tempted to sin (as was Jesus during his incarnation), the temptation to participate in sinful conduct is not itself wrong.  Finally, man is a fallen creation and has a sinful nature; thus, succumbing to temptation and sinning are a common experience of many on this earth — even the stereotypically staunchest Christians.

For a Christian, it is disheartening to see the culture, government, and now military move to end opposition to immoral behavior.  This is a dramatic indicator of the direction of cultural morality in the United States:  Few other issues have so rapidly moved from Read more

USAFA Releases Anti-Climactic Climate Survey Data

As previously noted, the US Air Force Academy responded to Freedom of Information Act requests by holding a press conference and releasing the previously withheld results of the 2009-2010 climate survey.

The release was part of an official Air Force announcement; the Academy announcement contains a link to the presentation made by USAFA Superintendent Lt Gen Michael Gould at the press conference (available here, 5.6MB pdf).

The Academy made a concerted effort to explain the results (or, more accurately, describe how the results couldn’t be explained).  It appears the Academy survey was “imperfect” in several respects:  Read more

Fort Campbell Breaks Ground on $8.4M Chapel

An effort by local businesses and military leaders has garnered the sprawling Fort Campbell military facility the finances it requires to build a new chapel.  A group of 55 local business leaders and public officials

explained to lawmakers that at that time, Fort Campbell was at only 31 percent of the military requirement for chapels. The existing chapels — aging World War II-era “temporary” structures — often had inadequate capacity for Eagle Remembrance ceremonies to honor fallen comrades.

The large facility will allow assemblies of over 1,200 and provide space for a variety of religious services.  The local paper editorializes:  Read more

An Officer On Being a Jewish US Marine

A lengthy but interesting article by US Marine Lt Sam Jacobson covers his experience as a Jew in the Marine Corps, from his drill instructor asking if he needed kosher meals to the US military flying “interested Jews” to special religious services while fighting in Iraq.  At points he describes a “generous mood of religious accommodation” and even the presence of a “no preference” room during a time dedicated for religious services.

Perhaps one of the most interesting parts of Jacobson’s story is the theme he reveals of how gruff military members sometimes deal with the increasingly “sensitive” subject of religion.

He gets ‘scolded’ for sleeping during the time dedicated for religious exercise, but admits sleeping was a closely controlled exercise in training:  Read more

Military Archbishop Opposes DADT Repeal…on Constitutional Grounds

Military Archbishop Timothy Broglio has previously expressed his opposition to the repeal of the policy known as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”  In a recent article, however, he articulated his opposition not strictly on religious grounds, but on Constitutional ones:

The archbishop explained that while individuals may have a legal right to declare their sexual preferences, they have no comparable “right” to serve in the military at the same time.

Rather, he said, the military reserves to itself the right to deny individuals that privilege —  just as soldiers may forfeit the privilege of military service in many other ways, through their speech and behavior.  Read more

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