Last year, the Military Religious Freedom Foundation and Americans United for the Separation of Church and State complained to the military that former Navy Chaplain Gordon Klingenschmitt was representing himself as a current Chaplain. In the end, Klingenschmitt responded by adding a disclaimer to his publications saying he was a former Chaplain. Rob Boston, one of the lead voices of the AU, subsequently said Read more
Americans United for the Separation of Church and State has, again, filed a complaint with the IRS asserting that Liberty University is misusing its status as a tax-exempt (501(c)3) organization. The original complaint can be read here.
For its part, Liberty barely addressed the merits of the complaint, instead saying that this was simply another attempt by the AU to intimidate Liberty. In fact, Mat Staver, the Liberty School of Law dean, said the school was considering legal action in response to the AU’s attempt to intimidate Liberty students:
“We’re now looking at whether we are going to respond by filing some kind of civil action against Americans United — because what they’re trying to do is essentially intimidate Liberty University, particularly the students, from exercising their constitutional right to vote,” he argues. “We’re not about to allow this organization to do that to Liberty University students.”
As noted in the discussion last year when AU filed a complaint against Liberty, the AU is frequently associated with criticisms of Christians in the military. It remains a “partnering link” on the MRFF page, and Michael Weinstein has claimed AU membership at one point.
The recent Military Religion Question of the Day involved accusations that an Air National Guard Chaplain, LtCol Dan Hornok, was “blatantly proselytizing” in a commentary he published on an Air Force website. The article and initial commentary can be seen here.
The basic questions were:
Was the Chaplain “blatantly proselytizing?”
The shortest, most accurate answer: Read more
Last week, a question was posed about whether a Chaplain’s sermon in Afghanistan was a violation of military rules. The background, and links to the video, can be seen here.
So, did the Chaplain, as the accusers imply, violate military regulations due to the content of his sermon?
The shortest, most accurate answer: Read more
Organizations who oppose religion in public life (including the military) generally dismiss as ‘ludicrous’ the assertions that their goal is to scrub all vestiges of religious expression from government institutions, like the military.
American Atheists recently undermined that defense when they decried President Obama’s use of “God bless you” in his address to school children yesterday. The logic was particularly disturbing because it is the same as some activists who oppose religious associations in the military– Read more
Americans United for the Separation of Church and State filed a complaint with the IRS claiming that Liberty University was violating the federal tax code (as a tax-exempt entity) by “banning” a Democratic group while allowing a Republican one.
Liberty Counsel, the legal arm of the Falwell associated group that includes Liberty University, has responded by filing its own complaint to the IRS, claiming that AU uses IRS complaints as a means to “intimidate, silence, and harm” those with whom it disagrees. Read more
In an interesting turn of events, the Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers (MAAF) undermined Americans United for the Separation of Church and State (AU) in its recent effort to complain about Fort Leonard Wood’s “Free Day Away” (discussed here).
In July, the AU requested an IG investigation…something the MAAF did two years ago. The MAAF also complained again last January, and received a reply (which noted that the IG had already investigated their complaint) at nearly the same time the AU made their IG request. From the DOD reply:
The [IG] found that the program does not violate Army policy in that participation is voluntary…The IG determined that…soldiers have opportunities to participate in non-religious morale, welfare, and recreation programs. More specifically, during the Free Day Away program,…soldiers can remain in the barracks or go to an on-post facility, such as a Post Exchange Annex.
The Free Day Away event has also featured prominently in the MRFF lawsuit against the Department of Defense.
As noted at the Religion Clause, Americans United for the Separation of Church and State has asked the Inspector General (an increasingly popular office, these days) to investigate
…an Army base’s practice of coercing soldiers to attend church services…
Tabernacle Baptist Church’s “Free Day Away” allows trainees from nearby Fort Leonard Wood to get a break from the base as well as attend an evangelical church service.