Tag Archives: frc

Catholics Support Military Religious Freedom Coalition

Archbishop for the Military Services, Rev. Timothy Broglio, announced his support of the recent coalition advocating for religious freedom in the US military:

The Archdiocese congratulates the Family Research Council and all the members of the Restore Military Religious Freedom Coalition on their announcement of the formation of the coalition.  The Archdiocese looks forward to working closely as an ally as all seek to ensure the continued protection of the 1st Amendment Rights of Free Speech and the Free Exercise of Religion of the men and women of the United States Military.  No one who raises a right hand to defend the Constitution should sacrifice one of its fundamental principles!

“Likewise, the Archdiocese applauds the work of Doctor Fleming and all those Members of Congress who continue to work so diligently to ensure the 1st Amendment Rights of Free Speech and Free Exercise of Religion of the men and women of the United States Military.”

This is particularly notable because the coalition Read more

Congressmen, Advocates Call for Military Religious Freedom

Increasingly, each one of us in our different organizations and capacities have been getting confidential calls and other reports and information from members of the military pointing to this growing hostility toward religious freedom. Unfortunately, members of the military cannot speak out about these things.

This is just a sampling of the cases that have been made public.

– Tony Perkins, Family Research Council

Representatives from 14 groups joined three US Congressmen to release a report on “The Threat to Religious Liberty in the Military” (PDF) and press for passage of legislation allowing US military servicemembers to act and speak on their faith:  Read more

Atheist Supports Restricting Military Religious Freedom

Update: Former Marine pilot Tom Carpenter of the Forum on the Military Chaplaincy — a liberal activist group — largely repeated the list below a few weeks later, though he did so without attribution.

Jason Torpy, the one-man band that is the Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers, recently posted a point-by-point refutation of recent accusations of the US military being hostile to Christianity.

Much of his disagreement was nuance or the way in which something was phrased, which isn’t worth discussing here.  The interesting ones, though, were the cases in which he agreed with the US military’s “anti-Christian” actions:

January 2010 — Department of Defense orders removal of tiny Bible references on military scopes and gunsights.
Torpy: True and appropriate.

This issue has been discussed before.  While there is no religious requirement the references remain, the fact they were targeted because of their (obscure) religious reference — only after Michael Weinstein complained, notably — is troubling.  That he would seek this Read more

Groups Seek Clarity on DoD Policy on Religious Liberty, Weinstein

The Department of Defense pushed back against allegations it was planning to court-martial Christians who might share their faith, and it tried to disavow any relationship with Michael Weinstein in the process:

Internet posts are attributing a statement that superior officers who try to convert those under their command should face court-martial to Mikey Weinstein, president of the Albuquerque, N.M.-based Military Religious Freedom Foundation, and are identifying him as a Pentagon advisor, Christensen noted.

“Mr. Weinstein is not part of any DOD advisory group or committee, nor is he a consultant to the Defense Department regarding religious matters,” Christensen said. “Mr. Weinstein requested, and was granted, a meeting at the Pentagon April 23, with the Air Force judge advocate general and others, to include the deputy chief of chaplains, to express his concerns of religious issues in the military.”

The statements still decline to answer what about Weinstein warranted a private meeting with the top legal advisor in the entire US Air Force, a perception World Magazine picked up on:

A column appeared in The Washington Post, largely sourced by Weinstein, which portrayed him as heroically taking on and lecturing Read more

Air Force Hammered over Preferential Treatment of Weinstein

The Air Force, DoD, and even the Obama Administration continue to be hammered by conservative media and religious freedom advocates over the decision to host Michael Weinstein at the Pentagon in a meeting about “religious issues.”

Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council called it an “anti-Christian offensive” on the part of the US military.

And [Weinstein] is the man the Pentagon heeded to create its policy on faith? An anti-Christian militant who’s threatened by gift collections for needy children?

A Catholic blogger took Weinstein to task, as many did, for calling Christians “monsters” in a recent virulent op-ed.  While saying he didn’t necessarily agree with evangelical Christians, the blogger said  Read more

USMC Lawyers say Spouse Groups Must Accept Homosexuals

If DADT repeal was such a benign ‘non-event,’ why are incidents like this erupting into scandals more than a year later?

The top lawyer in the US Marine Corps has reportedly told the Marine legal community that, to avoid “a stir” as seen at Fort Bragg, spouse groups operating on Marine installations must accept homosexuals:

The memo noted that spouses clubs and various other private institutions are allowed to operate on bases only if they adhere to a non-discrimination policy encompassing race, religion, gender, age, disability and national origin.

“We would interpret a spouses club’s decision to exclude a same-sex spouse as sexual discrimination because the exclusion was based upon the spouse’s sex,” the memo said.

This appears to be legal advice within the legal community and, as noted before, military lawyers do not make decisions about military policy (nor are they always right).  However, the article does not cite a Marine policymaker Read more

Family Research Council Cites ChristianFighterPilot.com

Just a short time after a gunman fired on a security guard at The Family Research Council building in Washington, DC — apparently because he ‘didn’t like their politics’ — the FRC and the Liberty Institute published The Survey of Religious Hostility in America (PDF, 2MB).  The Survey is 135 pages covering “more than 600 recent examples of religious hostility” detailing “religious bigotry throughout America.”  The paper includes not just independent government action, but moves by citizens to use the government to take action “hostile” toward religion.

America today would be unrecognizable to our Founders. Our first freedom is facing a relentless onslaught from well-funded and aggressive groups and individuals who are using the courts, Congress, and the vast federal bureaucracy to suppress and limit religious freedom. This radicalized minority is driven by an anti-religious ideology that is turning the First Amendment upside down.

Naturally, the report covers perceptions of religious hostility in the US military, with which they included this citation of ChristianFighterPilot.com:  Read more

FRC Sues Navy over Bible Ban Records

The Family Research Council has joined with Judicial Watch in filing a lawsuit against the US Navy seeking access to documentation over the Walter Reed policy that “banned” the Bible.

The FOIA lawsuit…seeks access to records concerning a policy announced in a September 14, 2011, memo issued by the Commander of the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center banning the use and/or distribution of Bibles and other religious items during visits with wounded, ill or injured patients.

The Navy has reportedly failed to respond to the FRC Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request within the time required by law.  Walter Reed rescinded the policy as insufficiently reviewed after intense media coverage.

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