In 2011 Dustin Chalker, a former Army Sergeant and now-discarded plaintiff of Michael Weinstein’s MRFF, created a petition on WhiteHouse.gov calling for an “End [to] the Military’s Discrimination against Non-Religious Service Members.”

The petition was two years old and was the second oldest unanswered petition on the site.  The White House responded last Friday:

Thank you for your petition regarding the importance of ensuring non-religious members of our armed forces are not discriminated against…

The Obama Administration strongly supports every American’s right to religious freedom. This support extends equally both to the many members of our armed forces who hold religious beliefs and to those members of the military who do not hold such beliefs.

The response then addresses the Army’s Global Assessment Tool, which changed last year.  In essence, the response to the petition says it is moot.

The White House response ignored Chalker’s contention that troops are “forced to participate in religious rituals.”  Interestingly, the response was titled [emphasis added]

Protecting Military Servicemembers from Religious Discrimination and Preserving Freedom of Religious Expression

The addendum may have been a nod to the many accusations that the military has been restricting religious expression over the past few months, but the response itself never spoke to that topic, other than to say

Military members who believe that they face discrimination due to their religious beliefs, or lack of such beliefs, should refer specific allegations to the Office of the Inspector General for their Service, or to the chain of command.

ADVERTISEMENT