Organizations who oppose religion in public life (including the military) generally\u00a0dismiss as ‘ludicrous’\u00a0the assertions that their goal is to scrub all vestiges of religious\u00a0expression from government institutions, like the military.<\/p>\n
American Atheists recently undermined that defense when they\u00a0decried<\/a> President Obama’s use of “God bless you” in his address to school children yesterday.\u00a0 The logic was particularly disturbing because it is the same as some activists who oppose religious associations in the military–the use of his official position.\u00a0 They said:<\/p>\n This is wrong. He is praying at the kids, to the kids and for the kids. He is doing it as a President, not as a citizen, and he is legitimizing religion and minimizing secular children…he is using his position to shove his beliefs down our kids\u2019 throats…<\/p>\n This is unnecessary, unwelcome, and un-American…<\/p><\/blockquote>\n If the President<\/em> and Commander in Chief (one who is\u00a0not often accused of being a “religious zealot”) is accused of being “un-American” for having the gall to say “God bless you,” what will happen to\u00a0American servicemembers who say the same thing?\u00a0 Must they\u00a0hide any<\/em> relation to religion while they are in the service?<\/p>\n Of course, this is not the first time this type of accusation has been made.\u00a0 When Americans United for the Separation of Church and State lodged their complaint<\/a> against the Air Force Academy, they complained that instructors had introduced<\/em> themselves with information about their personal beliefs:<\/p>\n we have been told that a number of faculty members have introduced themselves to their classes as born-again Christians.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Simple biographical information, then, is also inappropriate by that standard.<\/p>\n