Category Archives: Religion and Culture

“Praying Pilot” Convicted of Manslaughter

A Tunisian-based airline crew was convicted in Italy of manslaughter following a crash-landing in the sea in 2005.  The news has capitalized on the story about the captain abandoning control to his co-pilot and then praying rather than executing appropriate emergency procedures.  Notably, though, the co-pilot was also convicted of the same offense and given the same sentence, though there is no allegation he did the same thing.

Even so, any concern would not be on the fact that he prayed, but on the fact that he ceased taking the proper actions to ensure the safety of his aircraft and its passengers.

New York Times on Religion & the Military

Eric Lichtblau of the New York Times has written an article revisiting the Military Religious Freedom Foundation’s complaints over religious content in Army suicide prevention material, as previously discussed here.

The article mentions that Michael Weinstein was able to meet with Air Force Chief of Staff General Norton Schwartz.  It is a potential irony that Schwartz, like Weinstein, is Jewish (a fact not missed at his nomination), and that his class of 1973 at the Air Force Academy was replaced by Weinstein’s class of 1977.  Schwartz made no secret of his faith as a cadet and has not indicated that he experienced negative repercussions, while Weinstein claims a disturbing religious discrimination event while a cadet is the motivation behind all he does.

Weinstein reportedly said of the meeting with Schwartz

he [took] it very seriously, [and] he also acknowledged that there is a problem

Weinstein previously called Schwartz a “yes man” unable to “stand up” for what was right:

Because there’s a Jew in there, that’s supposed to make everything fine? It’s not fine. It doesn’t make a difference that he’s there. The reason to me is that he’s a yes man. He’s not going to stand up to do what needs to be done. But we’ll see.

Lichtblau notes that groups that oppose the MRFF fear an overreaction in the opposite direction.

Religious Freedom and American Government

CNN carried an article on Wednesday about Vice President Biden’s “stimulus oversight meeting.”  Neither the article nor the accompanying photo caption mentioned what many noticed in the photo. 

Biden is a professed Catholic, and he evidently observed Ash Wednesday.  Even though he is Vice President of the United States, and even though he was acting in his official capacity in front of the world, he is Constitutionally guaranteed the right to religious free exercise.

The same is true for members of the military.  Read more

Dobson’s Resignation…and the Military

Many outlets carried news of Focus on the Family Founder James Dobson’s resignation as chairman of the organization.  Interestingly, this caught the attention of some military/religion activist groups.  They have frequently belittled Focus and accused it of complicity in its dealings with the US Air Force Academy just a few miles away in Colorado Springs, accusing it of attempting to “Christianize” the military.

The new outrage is over Dobson’s replacement: Patrick P. Caruana.  Caruana is a 1963 Air Force Academy graduate and retired as an Air Force Lieutenant General in 1997.  To some, it is the perfect proof of conspiracy.

Supreme Court Rules on Summum

An interesting case was decided at the Supreme Court earlier this week.  Pleasant Grove City, Utah v. Summum had centered on Summum’s contention that since the city had erected a Ten Commandments on public property, they were bound to erect Summum’s “Seven Aphorisms” as well.  The Supreme Court ruled–unanimously–against Summum.  The case was litigated on free speech grounds, and Summum has indicated they will refile the case on church/state separation grounds.

The case is interesting because of its implications for religious freedom in the military.  Read more

Liberty Counsel: Stimulus Bill a “War on Prayer”

Fox News carries an interesting article based on a Liberty Counsel press release about the current “stimulus package” being debated in Congress.  In a section designating funds for schools, the legislation says that funds may not be used for

modernization, renovation, or repair of facilities (i) used for sectarian instruction, religious worship, or a school or department of divinity; or (ii) in which a substantial portion of the functions of the facilities are subsumed in a religious mission.

Interestingly, Fox News chose to put a picture of the US Naval Academy Chapel as the article’s illustration.  Liberty Counsel maintains that the restriction is discrimination based on viewpoint, while Americans United for the Separation of Church and State calls it “Constitutional.”

A Harvard Law professor is quoted as saying there are certainly Constitutional concerns with the legislation, but given the current judicial direction it is unlikely the Liberty Counsel would prevail.

Opposition to Warren Inflated

Several news sites have reported on the results of a Gallup Poll that indicates the media may have generated a perception of “controversy” where none existed.

The poll indicated that, contrary to recent news stories, less than 10% of Americans disapproved of Obama’s choice of Pastor Rick Warren for his inaugural invocation.  In fact, even among liberals and Democrats, Warren’s approval was far higher than his disapproval.  By far the greatest number of respondents replied that they “didn’t know enough to say.”  This led Gallup to conclude that

News media accounts of negative reactions…reflect…vocal positions of interest groups [rather] than an opinion…shared by the majority of the American public.

Ironically, Warren himself said in December that he believed the media was responsible for “the demonization of differences” that is polarizing and destructive to America:

The media often fans controversy and conflict to create a story and we start yelling at each other so much, nobody listens to each other anymore.

In short, the news media limited its reporting to vocal activists, because outside of those groups, there wasn’t a story.  Some might say the on-again, off-again coverage of the military-religious “controversy” bears similar hallmarks.

Congressman Advocates for Chaplains’ Prayer

Congressman Walter Jones (R-NC, 3rd District) has introduced a bill that would

ensure that every military chaplain has the prerogative to close a prayer outside of a religious service according to the dictates of the chaplain’s own conscience.

Similar legislation failed previously, though it caused negotiations that ultimately resulted in the rescinsion of military “guidelines” that had restricted the content of Chaplains’ prayers.

Mitch Lewis, an Army Methodist Chaplain, wrote an interesting commentary in November 2007 (and recently revisited) on this very subject, presenting a reasoned view that prayers at military ceremonies Read more

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