Tag Archives: Chaplain

MRFF: Military Required to Have Chaplains for Everyone

Michael “Mikey” Weinstein was recently interviewed about the Navy’s decision to ban civilian volunteers from leading religious services during boot camp. In the course of the interview, he was asked:

Host: Is the military required to provide a leader of some sort, to make sure that whatever somebody’s faith is, there’s somebody there — a chaplain, a volunteer, there — is that something that’s required…?

Weinstein: Yes, yes. That is a requirement from the chaplain’s corps.

Weinstein’s response digressed into converting people from one faith to another, so the hosts asked the question again:  Read more

Chaplains Group Joins MRFF in Complaint Against Navy

Retired US Army Chaplain (Col) Ron Crews of the Chaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty recently teamed up with Michael “Mikey” Weinstein of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation to send the Navy Recruit Training Command a joint letter (PDF) complaining about the Navy’s decision to ban civilian volunteers from leading religious services:

We have testified before the same Congressional panels. We have spoken out on the same incidents in the services. And, we are always on opposing sides, but in this instance it is easy for us both to say that the Navy went too far and is clearly in violation of the Constitutional religious liberty rights of American sailors at the Recruit Training Command.

While the MRFF said pigs must be flying for the MRFF and the Chaplain Alliance to be working together, it’s really not that dramatic. For one thing, Weinstein Read more

Pentagon Hosts Sikh New Year Celebration

The Pentagon recently joined with a group of Sikhs in celebrating Vaisakhi and the Sikh New Year. Pentagon Chaplain (LtCol) Claude Brittian spoke of the importance of religious freedom:

“I believe that for me to be able to celebrate as a Christian, then I must stand up for the rights of others to celebrate in regards to their faith,” Brittian [said]…

“I am a firm believer that I should not be the one who is explaining Sikhism to the rest of the world,” he said. “I believe that those who practice their faith should have the opportunity to share their faith.”

Somewhat ironically, Sikhs aren’t permitted to serve in the US military, at least not while maintaining the articles Read more

Chaplain Becomes CGO of the Year, Mikey Weinstein Target

US Air Force Chaplain (Capt) Sonny Hernandez was recently selected as the AFLCMC IMA CGO of the year.

Two days after the announcement, Michael “Mikey” Weinstein slammed the chaplain as “homophobic [and] anti-Semitic.”

Why Weinstein was monitoring the AFLCMC CGO ranking is a mystery. It’s possible he knew of Chaplain Hernandez from the chaplain’s time at USAFA, which was his last assignment until November of last year. Weinstein also has family in the Wright-Patterson area, which is where the 445th Airlift Wing is based and where the announcement would have been made.

Finally, Weinstein came to his conclusions about Chaplain Hernandez from viewing the publicly available sermons he gave to his home church. (As an IMA Reservist, the Chaplain’s primary job is civilian.)

Weinstein slams the chaplain for “putrid, bigoted Read more

Christian NFL Punter Speaks at Prayer Breakfast


Brian Hansen, a former NFL punter and local director of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, recently spoke at the South Dakota National Guard’s 114th Fighter Wing prayer breakfast:

Hansen was introduced and his biography read by Lt. Col. William Tesch, 114th Fighter Wing chaplain.

“If there has been a theme running through the selection of speakers for our annual prayer breakfasts it would have to be faith-based leadership.” said Tesch. “This year, Read more

Senate Confirms Army Chief of Chaplains

In March the Senate confirmed Chaplain (COL) Paul Hurley for the position of Army Chief of Chaplains.

Hurley was ordained as a Catholic priest in 1995. He will replace Chaplain (Maj. Gen.) Donald Rutherford, who plans to retire.

Chaplain Hurley will skip BG and be promoted to Major General.  He recently spoke at the Fort Hood prayer breakfast, in which he quoted General George C. Marshall:

Hurley continued with a quote from former General of the Army George C. Marshall, commenting on the importance of the spirit.

“The Soldier’s heart, the Soldier’s spirit, the Soldier’s soul, are everything. Unless the Soldier’s soul sustains him, he cannot be relied on and will fail himself and his commander and his country in the end,” quoted Hurley.

Also at BostonCatholic.org.  Read more

Report: Military Atheists Outnumber Southern Baptists

Christianity Today recently cited December 2014 DoD statistics to state that atheists outnumber Southern Baptists in the US military:

According the latest Department of Defense statistics on religion, there were 12,360 Southern Baptists among the US military’s 1.3 million members on active duty as of December 2014. There were also 12,764 atheists—an advantage of 404 over Southern Baptists.

By contrast, Southern Baptists outnumbered atheists by about 10,000 in 2009, with 16,975 Southern Baptists and only 6,702 atheists on active duty.

In contrast with prior stories on “religious hostility” in the military, using historical data columnist Bob Smietana also said there was no evidence of a “mass exodus” of Christians from the military:   Read more

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