Tag Archives: religious freedom

Americans United Debunks Itself on Military Religious Freedom

When the Family Research Council published its “Clear and Present Danger” (PDF) report on the state of religious freedom in the US military, there was caterwauling from secularists and critics of religious freedom that the report was full of lies and fabrications. In the intervening months, however, no one actually sat down and rebutted the claims.

Granted, with 61 events contributing to what the authors call a “picture of the threat to religious liberty” in the US military, the breadth of the situation made it a daunting task to counter.

It’s also hard to refute because its true.

Chris Rodda, of Michael “Mikey” Weinstein’s Military Religious Freedom Foundation, gave a half-hearted attempt last June, discussing Read more

Mikey Weinstein’s Words, Actions, and Religious Freedom

We think — and the Constitution and Supreme Court caselaw supports us — that the right of the men and women in our armed forces to their personal choice, the right to their personal belief, the right to their religious or non-religious preference, cannot be abrogated by the government, by their superior officers, or by the Pentagon.

That sounds like a statement most could agree with — and those words come from MRFF board member Mike Farrell in their annual end-of-year fundraising letter.

Regrettably, the actions of Farrell’s boss, Michael “Mikey” Weinstein, contradict his noble words.  Contrary to Farrell’s gilded semantics, Weinstein has attacked the personal faiths of Christian chaplains and troops — even going so far as to attack Christian chapel services — in what can only be described as an attempt to deny “the men and women in our armed forces” their religious liberties through the force of government.

More tellingly, Weinstein — a Read more

Senior Leader: Christianity has no Place in Army

An article at the UK Mirror quotes a strikingly strong-worded British officer claiming there is no place for Christianity in the military:

Lieutenant Colonel Laurence Quinn said commanders should no longer send priests to the front line and the forces should have non-religious advisors…

The British Army chaplaincy program is different from the US system, with all 150 or so chaplains being exclusively of the Christian faith.

Interestingly, LtCol Quinn Read more

Robins AFB Chaplains Protect Religious Freedom by Supporting It (Video)

An interesting story at the local news to Robins AFB, Georgia, notes that one of the roles of the Air Force chaplaincy is to protect troops’ right to religious freedom — but it doesn’t have to stifle religious exercise to do so [emphasis added]:

They defend the right to worship freely, even if other airmen’s views conflict with their own beliefs.

At the Robins Air Force Base tree lighting ceremony in early December, you would not have heard utterances of ‘”Seasons Greetings”, no mentions of “holiday trees” or talk about celebrations of a “winter solstice”.

That gathering of the troops, complete with hymns and prayers, was undeniably Christian.

That is protection of religious freedom. Religious freedom is not Read more

Obama’s Popularity Among Military Affected by DADT

A Military Times non-scientific survey of subscribers described how President Obama’s “popularity” within the military has “crumbled”:

According to a Military Times survey of almost 2,300 active-duty service members, Obama’s popularity — never high to begin with — has crumbled, falling from 35 percent in 2009 to just 15 percent this year, while his disapproval ratings have increased to 55 percent from 40 percent over that time.

The Military Times piece and another article at the Christian Science Monitor imply part of the reason for the decline is the “heavy-handed social engineering” of the military during the past few years, including the repeal of the ban on homosexuals serving in the US military.

The Military Times article also continued the socially acceptable schizophrenic interpretation of the post-DADT environment in the US military. It first cites sources claiming the repeal of DADT was a “non-event.” From Richard Kohn, a professor at UNC Chapel Hill:  Read more

Confusion Continues over Military Religious Freedom

An article at the Stars and Stripes, making a reference to the congressional testimony a couple of months ago, notes that “both sides agree” that there continues to be confusion over the US military’s policy on religious liberty. The article led with the story of US Army Chaplain (Capt) Joe Lawhorn — who was punished for mentioning his faith during a briefing and who was cited again recently in the Washington Times — as an example.

Nearly a year after the Department of Defense issued a heavily revised religious expression policy that advocates said would bring a new level of religious freedom, the dispute at Fort Benning, Ga., is evidence that the new wording hasn’t done away with old disputes. The fight  Read more

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