Tag Archives: religious freedom

Wiccan Service Packed at Air Force Basic Training

 Cauldrons, spell books, brooms, and swords in a military witchcraft ceremony.
Photo credit: Katrina Gutierrez

A local paper — in an article briefly titled “No Hocus Pocus” — noted that “hundreds” of basic trainees have attended Wiccan services at Lackland AFB, Texas:

[There is] a curious multiplication of Wiccans at Lackland. Hundreds of basic military trainees have chosen to study witchcraft at the base.
 
“When we come over here on a Sunday, often times, there are 300 to 400 (trainees),” Tony Gatlin said.
 
Gatlin is the coven’s high priest. His wife Read more

Chaplains Serve Around the World, and at Home

The US military chaplaincy has sometimes been criticized for existing while troops are stationed in the United States.  After all, can’t troops just go off base to one of the hundreds of local churches?

In an official military article entitled “Iron Brigade Keeps the Faith,” the service of Chaplain (Capt) Christopher Adunchezor demonstrated one reason why chaplains are necessary wherever US troops are deployed:

“It is my duty as a chaplain to serve soldiers in the field, or wherever they may be, and to restore their faith and to deliver the message of God,” said Adunchezor…  Read more

Hindu National Guard Soldier Elected to Congress

Tulsi Gabbard was recently elected to the US House of Representatives as a Democrat from Hawaii.  Gabbard is a Hindu and a Captain in the Army National Guard.

Her faith was apparently made an issue during the campaign, at which point she made an interesting reply:

When I volunteered to put my life on the line in defense of our country, no one asked me what my religion was.

Actually, when she inprocessed they probably did ask Read more

Mojave Cross Returns to Hilltop, Critics Stew

As previously noted, about 100 people attended a dedication of the new memorial cross in the Mojave National Preserve, erected after a decade-long battle led by the ACLU failed to have it permanently torn down.

“Judges and lawyers may have played their roles, but it was the veterans who earned this memorial, and it is for them it rises once more,” The Associated Press quoted attorney Hiram Sasser of the Texas-based Liberty Institute as saying.

Don Byrd, writing for the Baptist Joint Committee (whose purpose is ostensibly to “defend[] the first freedom of the First Amendment”) said allowing religious symbols to remain on public display was “disturbing.”  He also Read more

Fort Hood Massacre Victims Sue US Government

As reported by the Associated Press, victims and surviving family members of the 2009 Fort Hood massacre have filed a lawsuit against the US government alleging negligence and shirking of responsibility.  They claim the government is attempting to avoid liability by referring to the attack as “workplace violence” rather than terrorism:

The lawsuit alleging negligence by the government said that the Defense Read more

USAFA Religious Respect Conference Highlights Success

US Air Force Academy PA Don Branum writes a post-event update on last week’s Religious Respect Conference, and it contains some amazingly positive comments on the environment of religious freedom at USAFA [emphasis added]:

Cadet 4th Class Wasim Soomro [from a Muslim family] captured the attention of the attendees with a recollection of his experiences. 

Soomro didn’t have to put his faith aside for BCT. The military guidance officer for Soomro’s unit, Cadet Squadron 39, visited him on his second night of basic cadet training. The officer knew from Soomro’s biography that he was Muslim and wanted to know how to meet his religious needs.
 
“He asked me what times of day I was supposed to pray,” Soomro said. “I told him the morning was huge, and then the midday…”  Read more

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