Tag Archives: religious freedom

US Department of Defense Honors Muslim Faith

The Pentagon recently hosted its annual iftar, the traditional breaking of the Ramadan fast by Muslims. Deputy Secretary of Defense Bob Work noted the event allowed the Department of Defense to “honor” the Muslim faith:

In addition to recognizing and honoring the Muslim faith, tonight is also an opportunity to celebrate the importance of diversity and equality within the Department of Defense, and the values that make our Department strong – integrity, courage, dedication and respect.

Presumably, in the spirit of diversity, the DoD similarly honors the values of integrity, courage, etc, in the Jewish, Christian, Hindu, and other religious faiths. To date, however, there do not appear to be any similar public Department of Defense statements about other religions.

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Army War College Publishes Paper on Religious Hostility

The US Army War College published a monograph on the core topic of the US military’s “evolving culture of hostility toward religious presence and expression.”  The authors were Don Snider, a Senior Fellow in the Center for the Army Profession and Ethic (CAPE) at West Point and an Adjunct Research Professor in the Strategic Studies Institute at the U.S. Army War College, and retired US Army Col Alex Shine of the War College.

The paper, entitled “A Soldier’s Morality, Religion, and Our Professional Ethic: Does the Army’s Culture Facilitate Integration, Character Development, and Trust in the Profession?“, is clearly meant to be academic, but at 30 pages makes for a fairly easy – and worthwhile – read.

The authors focus on the influence of changing social values on ethics within the US military, as demonstrated in the increasing secularism in American society that is essentially hostile to religion:  Read more

Navy NCO Promotes “Gay pride” over “Twisted” Religious Dogma


US Navy Photo by MC3 Erik Foster

Senior Chief Hospital Corpsman Tom Guest (an E-8, or senior enlisted Sailor, for those unfamiliar with Navy rank) spoke at a homosexual/transgender “pride” event on the underway USS Bataan on June 25th. His topic was “What Exactly Do We Mean by GAY PRIDE?”

He provided a variety of potential answers, including

GAY PRIDE is about owning who we are, whether we are butch dykes, fem queens, or the always coveted “Straight Acting” gay.

Chief Guest also noted that the ship’s leadership had been supportive Read more

US House Again Adopts Bill to Ban Atheist Chaplains

Update: Jason Torpy, UCC endorser Stephen Boyd, and US Army Major Ryan Jean have announced their intentions to provide a briefing to Congress on the need for a humanist/atheist chaplain.  Their announcement repeats the misleading fact that many in the military declare “no religious preference.”

US Rep John Fleming (R-La) again added an amendment to the annual Defense Appropriations bill that would prevent chaplains from being commissioned in the US military if they don’t have a proper endorsing agency. Because non-theists don’t have a religious endorsing agency required by military regulations, his bill has the effect of preventing atheists or humanists from becoming chaplains;  Read more

Air Force “Honors” Stonewall Riots?

An Air Force article on a homosexual/transgender pride “celebration” at Andersen AFB, Guam, noted the history behind the June event:

Pride Month is celebrated annually in the U.S. during June to honor the 1969 Stonewall Riots in New York, a tipping point for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights movement.

For those who haven’t looked it up, the “Stonewall Riots” were essentially a police raid of a “gay bar” that went bad, with patrons attacking the police. When the outnumbered police retreated to a building for their safety, the homosexual rioters attempted to set the building on fire. Read more

Klingenschmitt Wins Colorado GOP Primary

Gordon Klingenschmitt, the former Navy chaplain discharged over a controversy about “praying in Jesus’ Name,” has won the GOP primary for the US House of Representatives for the 15th District in Colorado.

Klingenschmitt expressed confidence in a November victory, as the district is heavily Republican — and also boasts a significant military population.

Klingenschmitt was also sued, unsuccessfully, by Michael “Mikey” Weinstein and his wife, Bonnie, over “imprecatory prayers.” Klingenschmitt sued the Weinsteins in return, claiming abuse of process and defamation. His suit survived dismissal last January, with the defamation claim being allowed to proceed.

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FDR Prayer to be Added to Memorial

O Lord, give us Faith. Give us Faith in Thee; Faith in our sons; Faith in each other; Faith in our united crusade…

With Thy blessing, we shall prevail over the unholy forces of our enemy. Help us to conquer the apostles of greed and racial arrogancies. Lead us to the saving of our country, and with our sister Nations into a world unity that will spell a sure peace…

Thy will be done, Almighty God…

President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s D-Day prayer is to be added to the World War II Memorial in Washington, DC, now that President Obama has signed the change into law.  The prayer was previously discussed here, when the administration’s Bureau of Land Management opposed the prayer.

The full text of the prayer, from FDR’s address to the nation on D-Day, Read more

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