Tag Archives: Religion

Buddhist Shrine to be Removed from National Park

Local Albuquerque papers noted that a Buddhist stupa was going to be removed from New Mexico’s Petroglyph National Monument because it was unconstitutional:

The National Park Service said Monday that park service will remove the ten-foot structure containing Buddhist relics from the park this week after getting an opinion from the Department of Interior’s solicitor general. The solicitor general ruled last month that keeping the Buddhist stupa violates the Constitution on established religion.

The story of the stupa is somewhat complex, as the NPS “bought” the stupa when it gained possession of the land from the original owners (after a legal battle) in the 1990s.  The Park Service didn’t raise the monument, nor does it Read more

Is Immorality Only that which Harms Others?

A common defense of “sexual liberty” is that it is limited to the private conduct of consenting adults — in other words, it doesn’t “harm” anyone else. Similarly, a frequent retort to opposition to the normalization of homosexual ‘marriage’ is “what marriage was harmed by this homosexual union?”

Dr. Albert Mohler and Pastor Tim Keller have a fascinating discussion on this topic in a panel for the Gospel Coalition:

Their discussion is a fairly thorough breakdown of these canards Read more

USAFA Cadets Observe Hindu Holiday

According to a press release, 10 US Air Force Academy cadets attended a Hindu service in the cadet chapel to celebrate the Hindu pantheon.

The Academy chaplain’s office provided support for the event, which was led by Hindu priests with the Sri Venkateswara Temple of Colorado.

Cadet 3rd Class Anish Bachu of Cadet Squadron 09 called the event historic and thanked the chaplains, particularly Chaplain (Col.) Robert Bruno Read more

NBC Reports Trijicon Sights Still Bear Bible Verses

NBC recently updated the controversy of Bible references being inscribed on the side of Trijicon’s ACOG weapon sites sold to the US military (as well as other nations).

Nearly three years later — despite the military’s assertion that is making “good progress” — the code remains on many rifles deploying to Afghanistan…

For those unfamiliar with the original story, Trijicon makes industry-leading sights for weapons and has sold them by the hundreds of thousands to the military.  (They’ve reportedly increased marksmanship in the Army.)  On the side of the scope, the identification number is followed by an abbreviation that refers to a Bible verse.

As is Trijicon tradition, every verse makes some reference to “light,” as their sights use a form of ‘light enhancing’ technology.

Michael Weinstein complained in 2010 Read more

Army Chaplains Emphasize Strong Bonds Against Suicide

US Army Chief of Chaplains MajGen Donald Rutherford recently noted that “relationship problems are a leading cause of suicides,” something previously noted here.  As a result:

As part of a push to prevent suicides, Army chaplains want 50,000 Soldiers and additional family members to attend their “Strong Bonds” retreats over the next three months.

Strong Bonds has traditionally been understood to be a marriage enrichment retreat, but it has been altered to include another demographic:  Read more

Military Atheist Receives Award for Rock Beyond Belief

According to a press release, Army Sgt Justin Griffith received an “outstanding achievement award” at the Carolinas Secular Conference over the weekend for his work on Rock Beyond Belief, the Fort Bragg atheist festival that drew a few hundred people to the Army base in late March of this year:

Despite overwhelming odds, and many hurdles, Justin Griffith demonstrated that those of all faith, or none, have as true American right Read more

Weinstein Goes After Military Christians for Being…Christian

Michael Weinstein recently gave an interview in which he said absolutely nothing new (a surprisingly common occurrence, given that his “war” on religious freedom in the military is several years old).  It remains amazing, however, that no one calls Weinstein out on his obvious disdain for Christians — for no other reason than expressing Christian beliefs.

The interviewer asked a simple question:  “What kind of complaints do you hear about?”

After his standard vagaries about assaults and ruined careers, he brought up Officers’ Christian Fellowship:  Read more

Article Questions American Support for Religious Tolerance

Natasha Mozgovaya at the Jewish Haaretz poses an interesting question:

What if the U.S. had invested in promoting religious tolerance as much as it did in military aid?

It seems the US is not developing the best reputation for the promotion of religious freedom (or, apparently, religious tolerance, which would certainly follow).  Her article contains a pretty big “might,” though:  Read more

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