US Army PFC Naser Abdo has been sentenced to more than two life terms (with no possibility of parole) by a federal court for his plan to kill fellow Soldiers in the cause of “jihad.” Abdo “remained defiant” even during his sentencing:
“I will continue until the day the dead are called to account for their deeds,” Abdo said in a low, gravelly voice through the cloth mask.
He was reportedly wearing the mask because he had been spitting Read more
The US Department of State recently released its 2011 Report on International Religious Freedom covering 199 nations and territories. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the state of religious freedom is worsening in the world:
“When it comes to this human right- this key feature of stable, secure, peaceful societies- the world is sliding backwards,” Clinton said.
While much of the publicity has focused on Egypt and Libya for obvious reasons, Secretary Clinton’s statement is particularly enlightening in that two of the primary countries called out in the report are Iraq and Afghanistan — whose governments have only survived because of the support of the United States and the sacrifices of its military.
In other words, religious freedom is suffering Read more
Chris Rodda, the researcher for Michael Weinstein’s Military Religious Freedom Foundation, recently answered an email from an MRFF critic who questioned their stance against the Holman Bibles. Much of the reply was pedantic or boiler plate from their other replies (another MRFF employee, Andy Kasehagen, has also published identical thousand-word copy/paste replies to different critics’ emails). The meat of her reply, though, was interesting:
The reason for MRFF’s actions to get the official military emblems removed from the Holman Bibles was much more than just the constitutional issue of a government entity endorsing religion.
The Holman Bibles also contain a large section of materials promoting an organization called the Officers’ Christian Fellowship (OCF)…The other issue with these Bibles is that they violate the JER and specific branch regulations that prohibit the endorsement of a non-federal entity. The OCF is a non-federal entity, so allowing an official military emblem on a book promoting the OCF, as these particular Bibles do, is in clear violation of these regulations.
While Rodda repeats the MRFF position, the military — which enforces its regulations — disagreed. After all, if there was any such violation, it Read more
Accused Fort Hood shooter US Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan — yes, he is still in the US Army — has been fined by his military judge for refusing to shave. Hasan is required to abide by military dress and personal appearance regulations, which generally prohibit beards. (As noted earlier, beards are also prohibited in the militaries of some predominantly Islamic countries.)
Beards are a violation of Army regulations. Hasan’s attorneys say he keeps declining to shave because he believes that doing so would violate his Muslim faith. Read more
Two recent articles provided insight into the social treatment of Christianity in the United States. The first, an editorial in the Colorado Springs Gazette — home of the US Air Force Academy — was aptly titled “Don’t Look, there’s a Christian chapel:”
We often hear from militant atheists, who make up a small fraction of nonbelievers, about a perceived theocratic stronghold in the United States. Christians will take over government, they tell us, and must be stopped if we are to remain free from compulsory religion.
There is an appropriate acknowledgement that not all atheists are represented by the vocal — and vitriolic — minority. There’s also a description that’s right up Michael Weinstein’s conspiracy theory alley: Read more
Critics of religious freedom in the US military have sometimes claimed that speaking one’s faith while being associated with the military is forbidden. For example, Michael Weinstein’s MRFF used to have a stockpile of chaplains’ articles from local base papers they would re-publish, often with little comment except shock and the implication that what the military member (a chaplain) was doing was wrong (an implication their acolytes were quick to assume was fact).
MRFF volunteer Rick Baker has gone further, saying uniformed officers can’t even put a religious bumper sticker on their private car. Chris Rodda, Weinstein’s research assistant, has gone so far as to explicitly state it is wrong for officers to “publicly espouse” their religious beliefs on the internet, even when they do so as private citizens. (She’s wrong, of course, but that hasn’t stopped her in the past…)
It is worth noting that these criticisms have been aimed Read more
The website created by the Defense Department to document recipients of military medals (an attempt at deterring “stolen valor”), now includes the nation’s second highest military honor:
The site launched with the names of Medal of Honor recipients for actions since 9/11, and now lists recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross, Air Force Cross and Navy Cross. The services are continuing to compile the lists of Silver Star recipients to add to the site, officials said.
Atheists within the culture (and even “military atheists”) are actively trying to tear down military memorial crosses around the United States — from San Diego to Arlington National Cemetery.
When do you think atheists will go after the service crosses given to America’s “heroes,” second only to the Medal of Honor? Is that as much an offense as a memorial cross in a cemetery?
When members of the US military have organized events and celebrations of their faith, a few atheists in the military have complained that religion is being favored and have demanded the military give them a platform to mock their fellow troops’ faith. As has previously been noted, more than once, they fail to honestly admit that secular events are actually the norm.
In another of the many examples, the US Marine base at Camp Lejeune, NC, recently hosted the YMCA’s Summer Kids Club:
Children gathered around a table and busily Read more