Tag Archives: Public Expression

Air Force to Document, Explain USAFA Religious Policy

Since when is the standard of what’s constitutional based on what offends someone else?
– Tony Perkins, Family Research Council, addressing USAFA’s statement that a Bible verse was removed because it made someone feel “uncomfortable.”

Congressman Mike McIntyre (D-NC) asked Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James if she would provide an official explanation of the USAFA Bible verse incident:

Would you be willing to submit a detailed explanation within the next 10 days…of the event that occurred…, what the Air Force Academy policy is, and…how that policy was applied in this situation?

Secretary James agreed to do so. The Air Force has already said its policy is found in AFI 1-1, which says  Read more

General Welsh: No Religious Persecution in US Air Force

Update: Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council released the following statement in response to General Welsh’s testimony [italics original]:

“The perception is that Mikey Weinstein is setting the policy for religious expression in the U.S. Air Force, as evidenced by the growing number of incidents of religious hostility toward Christians.  Instead of denying reality, General Welsh should have taken the opportunity in Friday’s hearing to discuss how he would bring the Air Force into compliance with the new DOD instructions protecting religious expression…

“Family Research Council and the Restore Military Religious Freedom Coalition will not stand by while the Air Force Chief tries to evade the reality of these attacks on religious expression.  We will continue to do all we can to protect the rights of the men and women serving in the Air Force and in all the uniformed services.”

A visibly frustrated General Mark Welsh, Chief of Staff of the Air Force, fielded questions about religious liberty during what was supposed to be a congressional committee meeting on the Fiscal Year 2015 Air Force budget:

The single biggest frustration I’ve had in this job is the perception that somehow there is religious persecution inside the United States Air Force. It is not true.

Interestingly, the words “religious persecution” were General Welsh’s characterization, not the Congressman’s.

To be fair, that statement may be technically accurate in Read more

Cadets Speak Out, Religious Liberty Group Meets with USAFA

While many people may have opinions, the fact is there is no Air Force policy or regulation at all that addresses Bible verses or other public displays of religion — even in an official office setting, even by Air Force “leaders.”

Based on actual military policy, Air Force cadets — and enlisted, and officers — remain free to have verses on their whiteboards and Bibles on their desks, even if some people don’t agree or like it.  The mere association of an Air Force leader with a religious belief cannot reasonably be interpreted to be improper — or else far more censorship and restriction on conduct needs to occur. After all, if a cadet can’t handle seeing a Bible verse on a whiteboard, how will he react when he sees his commander wearing a yarmulke?

US Air Force Academy cadets spoke out — anonymously — after the recent kerfuffle over Bible verses on dry erase boards. Their statements are mature and well-considered:  Read more

Former Korean Soldier Speaks at Austin Prayer Breakfast

Sung Joon Jang is a faculty member at Baylor University and was the featured speaker at the Austin, TX, Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast. He grew up in his native Korea, where he fulfilled his mandatory military service:

“My dad was an atheist…and since I was young, I heard, ‘There is no God,’ and that religion was for feeble-minded people – at best,” Jang told the audience.

But his conversion to Christianity came while serving his country.

“My conversion happened in the military,” Jang said of his mandatory service in the Korean Army. A fellow military member approached him and asked him whether he had read the Bible.

He said he had responded, “I will read the Bible and tell you what’s wrong with the Bible…”

Jang said he read the New Testament and Read more

USAFA Cadets Lead “Righteous Rebellion”

The Family Research Council had high praise for cadets who “offered a teachable moment of their own” when they hung Bible (and Qur’an) verses on their doors after a Bible verse was pulled down:

Overnight, Scriptures from Philippians 4 to Psalm 28 started appearing up and down dorm hallways on whiteboards — a stealth operation to counter the growing culture of religious oppression.

The FRC notes Michael “Mikey” Weinstein “went into panic mode” when he fired off an email to Academy Superintendent LtGen Michelle Johnson:  Read more

Update: Mikey Weinstein Threatens Suit if USAFA Cadets Not Punished

Michael “Mikey” Weinstein, a self-described religious liberty advocate, is threatening to sue the US Air Force Academy if it fails to punish cadets who exercised their religious liberty.

As previously noted in the original discussion, a large group of cadets responded to the original story of Weinstein successfully getting a Bible verse erased from a cadet whiteboard by posting verses of their own — from the Bible, Qur’an, movies, the Helix, and even the Flying Spaghetti Monster. (One said “go atheists!”)

According to an update at TheBlaze, Weinstein wants everyone who posted verses punished, for some reason, though he didn’t mention Read more

There’s Hope For the Future Yet…

While Miley Cyrus makes headlines for posing topless and Justin Bieber for alleged DUI arrests and just plain being a jerk, ‘Duck Dynasty’s’ Sadie Robertson is making headlines for a very different reason.

The 16-year-old ‘Duck’ heiress is famous for putting her faith first.

“I think people use fame as an excuse to lose their faith,” Roberston told FOX411. “Faith is obviously my number one priority and I think you need to put God at the top of everything you do.”

The world may be full of darkness, but Read more

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