{"id":45456,"date":"2020-07-07T14:31:17","date_gmt":"2020-07-07T17:31:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/christianfighterpilot.com\/?p=45456"},"modified":"2021-04-01T09:45:32","modified_gmt":"2021-04-01T12:45:32","slug":"chris-rodda-us-troops-can-proselytize-with-this-one-neat-trick","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/christianfighterpilot.com\/blog\/2020\/07\/07\/chris-rodda-us-troops-can-proselytize-with-this-one-neat-trick\/","title":{"rendered":"Chris Rodda: US Troops Can Proselytize with this One Neat Trick"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-45816\" src=\"http:\/\/christianfighterpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/roddabarton.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"880\" height=\"280\" srcset=\"https:\/\/christianfighterpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/roddabarton.jpg 880w, https:\/\/christianfighterpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/roddabarton-300x95.jpg 300w, https:\/\/christianfighterpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/roddabarton-768x244.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 880px) 100vw, 880px\" \/>Chris Rodda has long been a \u201c<a href=\"http:\/\/christianfighterpilot.com\/2016\/06\/09\/chris-rodda-caught-in-lie-over-military-religious-freedom-again\/\">creative<\/a>\u201d writer, despite her sometimes claim to be an apparent amateur historian. While she has been quick to call out the errors of others with whom she disagrees, she <a href=\"http:\/\/christianfighterpilot.com\/2019\/05\/22\/mikey-weinsteins-mrff-uses-fake-quotes-chris-rodda-doesnt-seem-to-mind\/\">ignores the errors<\/a> of those who are <a href=\"http:\/\/christianfighterpilot.com\/2018\/01\/18\/chris-rodda-cringes-at-mrffs-attack-on-president-trump\/\">on her side<\/a>. She has also published a bevy of, to put it nicely, <a href=\"http:\/\/christianfighterpilot.com\/2015\/02\/18\/chris-rodda-caught-in-lie-over-military-religious-freedom\/\">misleading<\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/christianfighterpilot.com\/2016\/06\/09\/chris-rodda-caught-in-lie-over-military-religious-freedom-again\/\">writings<\/a>. For someone so quick to call others \u201cliars,\u201d she has a very unique view of the truth.<\/p>\n<p>With that in mind, Rodda published <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailykos.com\/stories\/2020\/7\/6\/1958566\/-National-Defense-Authorization-Act-to-Include-Military-Training-on-How-to-Force-Religion-on-Others\">a blog<\/a> yesterday with an attention-grabbing title:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>National Defense Authorization Act to Include Military Training on How to Force Religion on Others.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Like much of what she writes, though, her title wasn\u2019t true. (Most obviously, the NDAA hasn\u2019t left either side of Congress yet, much less gone through conference committee or to the President. In other words, the NDAA doesn\u2019t &#8220;include&#8221; <em>anything<\/em> yet.)<\/p>\n<p>The short version of a long, meandering blog (Rodda has never been one for being succinct), is that Rodda is upset about <a href=\"https:\/\/www.congress.gov\/bill\/116th-congress\/senate-bill\/4049\/text\">Senate bill 4049<\/a>, which was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.congress.gov\/bill\/116th-congress\/senate-bill\/4049\/actions\">introduced in the Senate<\/a> only a couple of weeks ago. Within it, the Senate requires the US military to conduct training on \u201cReligious Accommodation\u201d that must include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Federal statutes, DoD Instructions, Service regulations regarding religious liberty and accommodation for members of the Armed Forces<\/li>\n<li>The Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993<\/li>\n<li>Section 533 of the National Defense Authorization Act for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.congress.gov\/112\/plaws\/publ239\/PLAW-112publ239.pdf\">Fiscal Year 2013<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Section 528 of the National Defense Authorization Act for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.govinfo.gov\/content\/pkg\/PLAW-114publ92\/pdf\/PLAW-114publ92.pdf\">Fiscal Year 2016<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Of that content, Rodda takes issue only with the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. The RFRA is fairly short, and it says the government cannot \u201csubstantially burden\u201d exercise of religion, with some <!--more-->significant exceptions.<\/p>\n<p>Rodda \u2013 who supposedly represents a foundation that <em><strong>defends religious freedom<\/strong> <\/em>in the US military \u2013 was sent into a tizzy over the fact the Senate wants to the military to know the legal requirements to <strong><em>defend religious freedom<\/em><\/strong> in the US military.<\/p>\n<p>Sound strange to you?<\/p>\n<p>Rodda\u2019s lamentation, verse 1 [emphasis added]:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>To fundamentalist Christians like the First Liberty Institute and the Congress members who wrote to Secretary Esper, any limit whatsoever on a chaplain\u2019s or service member\u2019s ability to shove their religion down the throats of others is a \u201csubstantial burden\u201d on their free exercise of religion\u2026<\/p>\n<p>If Section 541 of Senate\u2019s National Defense Authorization Act is passed, <strong>every commander and chaplain bent on foisting their religion on everybody in any way at any time will be trained to cry \u201csubstantial burden\u201d<\/strong> if anyone complains about it.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Think about this carefully. The Senate\u2019s language requires the military to train commanders, chaplains, and JAGs on <strong><em>what the law already says<\/em><\/strong>. Chris Rodda is afraid that if commanders, chaplains, and JAGs are trained on <strong><em>what the law already says<\/em><\/strong>, they\u2019ll suddenly cry \u201csubstantial burden\u201d? What meaningless tripe is that?<\/p>\n<p>If someone wanted to claim \u201csubstantial burden\u201d, why wouldn\u2019t they do so tomorrow? Why wait for Congress to require the military to train commanders?<\/p>\n<p>Then, however, Rodda went into a diatribe that revealed her ignorance and, quite frankly, idiocy.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Applying the Religious Freedom Restoration Act to the military flies in the face of the 1974 Supreme Court decision in Parker v. Levy\u2026 [which] made it clear\u2026 that because of \u201ccompelling governmental interests,\u201d the free speech of military members is NOT constitutionally protected as it is for civilians.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Let\u2019s discuss this one in reverse.<\/p>\n<p><strong>First<\/strong>, it is true that certain liberties may not be strictly constitutionally-protected within the US military as they would be for civilians. The Supreme Court ruled similarly in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.law.cornell.edu\/supremecourt\/text\/475\/503\"><em>Goldman v. Weinberger<\/em><\/a>, when it said the Constitution did <strong>not require<\/strong> the US Air Force to allow a Jewish Airman to wear a yarmulke. However, in response to that ruling, Congress <strong>wrote a law requiring<\/strong> the US military to allow Jewish Airmen to wear yarmulkes. So, what the Supreme Court has to say about lack of constitutional protection is irrelevant. Congress can write a law enhancing protections within the military of any rights it wants, as recent history has shown.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Second<\/strong>, it is true that <em>Parker v Levy<\/em> said compelling government interests could overrule otherwise protected rights. But the RFRA has the &#8220;compelling government interest&#8221; exception <em>already written into it<\/em>. How can the RFRA \u201cfly in the face\u201d of <em>Parker v Levy<\/em> when it <strong>says the <em>same thing<\/em><\/strong>?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Finally<\/strong>, Rodda\u2019s initial \u201capplying the RFRA to the military flies in the face\u2026\u201d makes it sound as though the Senate is trying to apply RFRA to the military. First, the language only requires members of the military to be trained on it. It says nothing about legal application.<\/p>\n<p>Second, the <strong>RFRA has <em>already<\/em> been applied to the military<\/strong>. It was cited in incidents after the repeal of DADT <a href=\"http:\/\/christianfighterpilot.com\/2015\/10\/27\/airman-loses-lawsuit-over-religion-same-sex-marriage\/\">and DOMA<\/a>. In the Monifa Sterling case, the US Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces &#8212; one step below the US Supreme Court in the military justice system &#8212; <a href=\"http:\/\/christianfighterpilot.com\/2016\/08\/15\/precedent-bible-quoting-court-martialed-marines-conviction-upheld\/\">specifically declared<\/a> &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.armfor.uscourts.gov\/newcaaf\/opinions\/2015SepTerm\/150510And160223.pdf\">RFRA applies to the military<\/a>.&#8221; It has been a driving force behind <a href=\"http:\/\/christianfighterpilot.com\/2015\/06\/16\/court-rules-in-favor-of-sikh-hoftstra-rotc-student\/\">Sikhs being allowed<\/a> to serve in the US military with their turbans and beards.<\/p>\n<p>Atheists <a href=\"http:\/\/christianfighterpilot.com\/2015\/06\/23\/becket-fund-sides-with-military-against-humanist-chaplains\/\">even cited RFRA<\/a> in their effort to force the military to accept them as chaplains.<\/p>\n<p>More importantly, the <em><strong>US military has already applied RFRA to itself<\/strong><\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>The Religious Freedom Restoration Act is also known as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.law.cornell.edu\/uscode\/text\/42\/2000bb-1\">Section 2000bb-1 of Title 42, US Code<\/a>. From <a href=\"https:\/\/www.esd.whs.mil\/Portals\/54\/Documents\/DD\/issuances\/dodi\/130017p.pdf\">DoDI 1300.17<\/a>, February 10, 2009 \u2013 which was just re-verified <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">last month<\/span> [emphasis added]:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-45817\" src=\"http:\/\/christianfighterpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/130017.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"860\" srcset=\"https:\/\/christianfighterpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/130017.jpg 1999w, https:\/\/christianfighterpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/130017-300x129.jpg 300w, https:\/\/christianfighterpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/130017-1024x441.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/christianfighterpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/130017-768x330.jpg 768w, https:\/\/christianfighterpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/130017-1536x661.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\" \/><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>e. <strong>Requests for religious accommodation<\/strong> will be resolved in a timely manner and <strong>will be approved<\/strong> when accommodation would not adversely affect mission accomplishment\u2026For requests for religious accommodation when accommodation would adversely affect mission accomplishment:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">(1) <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>In accordance with section 2000bb-1 of Title 42<\/strong><\/span>, United States Code (Reference (e)), requests for religious accommodation from a military policy, practice, or duty that <strong>substantially burdens<\/strong> a Service member\u2019s exercise of religion <strong>may be denied <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">only<\/span><\/strong> when the military policy, practice, or duty:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">(a) Furthers a compelling governmental interest.<br \/>\n(b) Is the least restrictive means of furthering that compelling governmental interest<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>According to its <em>own regulations<\/em>, the US military is <strong>required<\/strong> to <em><strong>approve<\/strong><\/em> religious accommodation requests from duties that \u201csubstantially burden\u201d religious exercise \u2013 <em>even those that adversely affect the mission<\/em> \u2013 unless there\u2019s a compelling government interest and there\u2019s no better way to handle it.<\/p>\n<p>In other words, with a few tweaks, the US military incorporated RFRA into its own regulations, and <strong><em>its been that way <a href=\"http:\/\/christianfighterpilot.com\/2014\/01\/27\/update-responses-to-dod-changes-on-religion-rules\/\">for years<\/a><\/em><\/strong>. The only thing new here is the Senate requiring the military to specifically <em>train<\/em> people in certain positions on what those laws and regulations have said <strong><em>for years<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>So, if this horrifying event of RFRA being applied to the military has already happened, where are Chris Rodda&#8217;s waves of US troops \u201cfoisting\u201d and forcing their religion on the rest of their fellow servicemembers simply by crying &#8220;substantial burden!, substantial burden!&#8221;? Where, at all, is the \u201cMilitary Training on <strong>How to Force Religion on Others<\/strong>\u201d?<\/p>\n<p>You mean Chris Rodda just wrote a blistering blog as if the world is going to end \u2013 on a topic that\u2019s <em>years old<\/em>? Her predictions are actually in the <em>past<\/em>, and they haven\u2019t come true?<\/p>\n<p>Congress is justifiably <a href=\"http:\/\/christianfighterpilot.com\/2020\/06\/11\/senator-cruz-defends-religious-freedom-chris-rodda-embarrasses-herself\/\">upset<\/a> that it has passed legislation that it feels the US military has either ignored, misinterpreted, or misapplied. Repeated cases of US troops being punished for religious exercise \u2013 with reversals, if they occur, requiring senior leader intervention \u2013 have demonstrated that commanders, chaplains, and JAGs (the people making these decisions and advising on them) don\u2019t know the law or regulations.<\/p>\n<p>This proposed language does nothing more than require the US military to <strong>read the law and its own regulations<\/strong> and be aware of them. The goal, presumably, is to prevent ignorant commanders from being advised improperly by ignorant JAGs and chaplains \u2013 who are supposed to know these things \u2013 to bend the knee to Michael \u201cMikey\u201d Weinstein and restrict the religious liberties of their troops.<\/p>\n<p>In truth, it&#8217;s hard to say that the language will even survive the Conference Committee with the bill from the Democrat-led House, which likely won&#8217;t have that language in it &#8212; a nuance Rodda coyly avoided in her Chicken Little-themed blog about forcing religion on US troops.<\/p>\n<p>There was a time that Chris Rodda fancied herself an up-and-coming paragon of historical fact and virtue, albeit &#8220;fact and virtue&#8221; as defined by her. It seems her work is now valued more for its click-through rate than its attempt &#8212; however unsuccessful &#8212; to convey truth.<\/p>\n<p>Rodda\u2019s click-bait title likely stirred the souls of the MRFF acolytes who see religious oppression in the shape of every passing cloud \u2013 and demand religious liberty be restricted as a result. Perhaps it loosened their purse strings a bit, which was the likely goal. But it does not change the truth.<\/p>\n<p>Rodda\u2019s characterization is a farce.<\/p>\n<p>Worse, she knows it.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fb-like\" data-share=\"true\" data-show-faces=\"true\" data-size=\"small\" data-action=\"like\" data-layout=\"standard\"><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: xx-small;\"><strong>ADVERTISEMENT<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js\"><\/script><!-- blogpost --><ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display: block;\" data-ad-format=\"auto\" data-ad-slot=\"2728423835\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-6450825356098669\"><\/ins><script>\n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});<\/script><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Chris Rodda has long been a \u201ccreative\u201d writer, despite her sometimes claim to be an apparent amateur historian. While she has been quick to call out the errors of others with whom she disagrees, she ignores the errors of those who are on her side. She has also published a bevy of, to put it nicely, misleading writings. For someone [&#8230;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[134,20,5284,175,96,78,82,4588,316,1823,39,6766,85,2,5218,5127,7,2595,1803,4043,17,10,171,6015,5361,59,457,1511],"class_list":["post-45456","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-government-and-religion","tag-air-force","tag-atheism","tag-chaplain","tag-chris-rodda","tag-christian","tag-congress","tag-constitution","tag-dodi-1300-17","tag-goldman-v-weinberger","tag-jag","tag-jewish","tag-mark-esper","tag-mikey-weinstein","tag-military","tag-military-religious-freedom-foundation","tag-monifa-sterling","tag-mrff","tag-national-defense-authorization-act","tag-ndaa","tag-parker-v-levy","tag-religious-expression","tag-religion","tag-religious-freedom","tag-religious-freedom-restoration-act","tag-rfra","tag-sikh","tag-supreme-court","tag-yarmulke"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/christianfighterpilot.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45456","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/christianfighterpilot.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/christianfighterpilot.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christianfighterpilot.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christianfighterpilot.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45456"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"https:\/\/christianfighterpilot.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45456\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":45819,"href":"https:\/\/christianfighterpilot.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45456\/revisions\/45819"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/christianfighterpilot.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45456"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christianfighterpilot.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45456"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christianfighterpilot.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45456"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}