The American military isn’t the only one that has to contend with accusations of mistreating detainees–or of crusading a religion.
In late December, the Canadian Forces National Investigation Service concluded that a list of accusations against the Canadian military over the past few years were “unfounded.” The list included not only physical mistreatment, but also religious coercion: Read more
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
God and Country will return on 28 December. In the meantime, we leave you with the words of President Barack Obama, chatting with children during a visit to a Boys and Girls Club in Washington, DC. Amazingly, at least one person has implied Obama violated the Constitution in making these comments. The relationship between those in government service, the Constitution, and religion is certainly controversial–and misunderstood–in America today. Kudos to the President for not shying away from the legitimate discussion of religious beliefs, as well as respecting those of the children.
Have a wonderful celebration of the birth of our Savior. Merry Christmas.
THE PRESIDENT: You know, I think that the most important thing is just to remember why we celebrate Christmas.
CHILD: I know!
THE PRESIDENT: Do you know?
CHILD: The birth of baby Jesus.
THE PRESIDENT: The birth of baby Jesus, Read more
The lawyer for accused Fort Hood shooter Major Nidal Malik Hasan has said his client’s religious rights have been violated by policies that restrict his freedoms during his confinement in the hospital.
Pretrial restrictions on Hasan [include] a requirement that he speak only in English with visitors or on the phone, unless an Army-approved translator is present…
Attorney John P. Galligan said he learned that police guarding Hasan…cut short a phone conversation Hasan was having with one of his brothers on Friday because Hasan was not speaking in English.
“Police at the hospital refused to let him pray, in Arabic, from the Quran with his brother,” Galligan said. “I think it’s illegal and a violation of his religious rights.”
The article cites “those familiar with” military justice in saying that the restrictions, while potentially non-standard in the civilian sector, would not necessarily be unusual within the military criminal justice system.
Large institutions like the US military, in their haste to address scandals, are sometimes criticized for imposing policies that answer the accusations of critics rather than defending the virtues or protecting the freedoms of their members. (This was the case when the Air Force issued “Religious Guidelines” in 2005, for example.) Fort Hood, in its reaction to the recent massacre, may have made itself vulnerable to that accusation.
The Army Times reports that Fort Hood has “tightened” its firearm policy. Notably:
The policy [requiring personal weapons registration] also applies to soldiers living off post and civilian hunters if they plan to use a gun at Fort Hood.
Those who enter the post must tell guards if they have a weapon with them.
Post officials say they will increase enforcement and inspection, and those who don’t comply face penalties.
The “new policies” restrict gun-owning Soldiers without making any changes that would prevent another massacre.
While the changes were reportedly made in response to the Fort Hood massacre, Read more
Though “watchdogs” are normally on the lookout for any connection between official US Air Force resources and remotely-religious events (as they sternly did earlier this year), a recent public event passed quietly and without controversy.
The US Air Force Band attended and provided the music for the National Menorah lighting at the White House on December 13th.
Though chilled by the winter weather, the band provided a warm performance and did an excellent job of supporting the US government’s public celebration of an important part of many Americans’–and some would say the nation’s–culture and religious heritage.
The entire ceremony can be watched at the National Menorah website.
First reported at the Religion Clause.
The US military is increasingly sensitive to associations with events that might be perceived as religious. While it strives to protect the free exercise rights of its members, it is also cognizant of criticisms of inappropriate interactions between a government institution and religion.
Few times is this more evident than near the end of the year, when the military struggles to support the religious celebrations of its members of varying religions. In general, there is little chance of offense between the varying religions that share holy days during this season. The greater possibility, in fact, is that critics of religion will be offended by the military’s support of military members’ religious celebrations.
The military’s handling of these events is not uniform, and there are no official policies on the support of public religious celebrations by military members. This has led to some interesting contrasts.
For example, military bases traditionally have displays during the “holiday” season, not unlike the White House’s National Christmas tree and Menorah. Searches for “Air Force Base” and “Christmas tree” show that, in the Air Force at least, there are still a great many military bases that do, in fact, light “Christmas” trees. However, expanding the search Read more
As noted at the Air Force website, the top 3 US Air Force leaders distributed their 2009 holiday season greetings. They asked Airmen to “reflect on our blessings,” and expressed gratitude for deployed Airmen and fellow servicemembers serving in war. The leaders also specifically asked Air Force families to “reach out” to the familes of deployed servicemembers and single Airmen, and
welcome them into your holiday celebrations, in the spirit of giving and support that makes our greater Air Force family so special.
Ultimately, Secretary of the Air Force Michael Donley, Air Force Chief of Staff Norton Schwartz, and Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force James Roy successfully transmitted a neutral note of goodwill for anything that happens to be going on during this specific time of year:
In all of the joyous ways that this holiday season is celebrated, we wish you and yours the very best–during this special time, and througout the New Year.
While admirably non-exclusive, the message is almost meaningless Read more