A few days ago, Michael “Mikey” Weinstein’s MRFF research assistant, Chris Rodda, mocked the purchase of an $88,000 Steinway piano for a Fort Riley chapel in a little-noticed piece at the Huffington Post:

Apparently, military cutbacks don’t apply to church music…

I can’t say that I was surprised to hear about this example of outrageously extravagant spending on a military chapel…

She implied, somewhat obtusely, that the Army wouldn’t need such a piano if there was really religious hostility toward Christians in the US military, as some have asserted. Notwithstanding her presumption that only Christians would use a musical instrument, it is worth a reminder that she represents an organization that claims to be defending “religious freedom” in the US military.  She later said

While the military is cutting back on necessary services it is sparing no expense on chapels and religious programs.

As a supposed advocate for religious liberty, she considers this a bad thing?

In point of fact, Rodda, Weinstein, and a few of their cohorts at the awkwardly named Military “religious freedom” Foundation, spend the vast majority of their time attacking religious liberty — specifically, that of Christians — in the military.

The clearest examples of this have been the MRFF’s — predominantly, Chris Rodda’s — attacks on Christians in the military while they ignore other faiths who do similar things. For example, Chris Rodda infamously attacked the religious freedom of deployed Soldiers celebrating Easter, apparently because the crosses would offend local Muslims and inspire attacks against US Soldiers. Rodda conveniently ignored the Menorahs, Sukkahs, and pagan bonfires built by other Soldiers which could just as easily have fallen into the same (ludicrous) category — but because it wasn’t Christians they’d be attacking, the MRFF wasn’t interested.

The Fort Riley Steinway incident is similar, in which Chris Rodda’s “religious freedom” advocacy takes a fairly benign situation and turns it into a sideways attack on military Christians’ religious liberty — and she ignores similar situations in other faiths.

For example, two months before Fort Riley awarded the contract for its government-funded piano, the US Army at Fort Meade issued a similar award for a government-funded Torah. While the Steinway piano registered at $88,546, the religious scroll came in a bit less at $38,910.31. The local chapel just dedicated the Torah last week, in a ceremony attended by the Garrison Commander and his Command Sergeant Major:

“We live in a nation where our military recognizes the significance of a Torah for Jews and is willing to purchase one,” said Rabbi Sanford L. Dresin, a retired military chaplain…[and] director of military programs for the Aleph Institute. “There are few places in the world where you find a military providing a Torah because the Constitution provides free exercise of religion, even in the military.”

While Chris Rodda belittled the purchase of the piano as yet another example of the “outrageous amounts of money” being spent on Christians in the military, she oddly ignored the cost of the 50cm scroll for the Fort Meade Jewish community. Better yet, the “separation of church and state”-advocating MRFF took issue with spending taxpayer money on the “secular” piano — but not the clearly sectarian Torah.

In fact, per capita the Torah — which serves a congregation of less than 200 — is probably more expensive than the piano, which will likely be placed in the new chapel complex built to serve multiple congregations and community activities in a 600-seat auditorium.

Again, however, the $39,000 Torah doesn’t have a nexus with Christians in the military, so the MRFF doesn’t care. By contrast, can you imagine how they would have responded if the Army had spent even $100 on a Bible?

There are many ways to criticize government spending, even in cases where such spending supports an otherwise noble cause or human right. A keyboard may have worked well for the Fort Riley chapel/activity center for a fraction of the cost — though many would take issue with that assertion. The Fort Meade Jewish congregation could probably have used its own money to purchase a Torah at the local bookstore at a fraction of the cost — though many would take issue with that assertion, too, and rightfully so.

There is room for debate about whether the US Air Force Academy needed to spend $51,000 on a “pagan circle” or whether the US military should have absorbed the costs of sending a “Rabbinical surge” to Afghanistan. There is room for debate about whether Fort Riley needed a Steinway or Fort Meade needed a Torah, both purchased at government expense. In any case, though, framing the issue as a slap against Christians is unwarranted — especially if one wants to claim the mantle of “religious liberty.” If, however, your real aim is to attack Christians in the military, then an Army Steinway provides an easy — if unprincipled — target.

In an era of austerity in government funding, there are many issues that may require a second look, but it is likely even average US citizens would be willing to grant some leeway for the support of religious liberty in the US military. America asks much of its troops; proactively supporting their religious liberty, even if such support errs to the side of excess, does not seem like an unwarranted price to pay.

In other words, let the Jewish congregation at Fort Meade have its Torah, the USAFA cadets have their circle, and let Fort Riley have their piano.  In all, let US troops around the world know they have the unwavering official military support for their religious liberty.  That is a defense of military religious freedom — something Chris Rodda, Mikey Weinstein, and their MRFF seem incapable of.

Repeated at the Stars and Stripes.

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