Tag Archives: religious freedom

USAFA Religious Training Gets Positive Reviews, could go AF-Wide

The Colorado Springs Gazette, local to the US Air Force Academy, carried a variety of positive comments from participants in USAFA’s second Religious Respect Conference. In fact, USAFA chaplains are advocating for their programs to be implemented Air Force-wide.  In “AFA religious respect program could soon go service-wide,” reporter Erin Prater noted

Chaplains hope to transition the Religious Respect Training Program throughout the Air Force as soon as possible, chaplain Maj. Shawn Menchion said…

David Oringderff, a local Wiccan leader, had high praise for USAFA’s efforts:  Read more

USAFA Inspires Religious Respect, MRFF Inspires Cadet Disrespect

The US Air Force Academy is holding a Religious Respect Conference this week, inviting “religious and First Amendment advocacy groups” to meet with cadets and chaplains on the topics of religious tolerance and dignity.

On the topic of training in religious respect, the Academy had a noble goal for its future officers:

“The…goal is teaching an ethic of respect regardless of who people are, whether they follow one faith or another faith or no faith at all,” said Chaplain (Col.) Robert Bruno…”What we are trying to teach is a fundamental ethic of respect. We recognize the inherent dignity of every human being…”
 
“We agree to disagree agreeably, civilly, respectfully, professionally,” he said.

On accommodation, Jewish Chaplain (Maj) Joshua Narrowe made an Read more

Michael Weinstein Backs Down on Years of JAG Service

Michael Weinstein, frequent critic of religious freedom in the US military, has often tried to lend weight to his vitriolic attacks by saying he served “10 years as an Air Force JAG.”  (In fact, his website still carries the assertion.)  As has been noted here before, given the dates he entered and left the Air Force, that claim takes a bit of creative math.  Weinstein finally felt the heat and recently began qualifying Read more

Seabees Help Chaplain Support Religious Freedom

Chaplain (LtCmdr) Neal Kreisler traveled with some unique kit to support the spiritual fitness of the troops he served, but not all the pieces made the transit.  So he got a little help.  Kreisler

brought a kosher Sukkah, or a small dwelling used outside the home during the holiday, that those practicing Judaism believe represents the Clouds of Glory by which the Israelites were protected after their exodus from Egypt…

While in transit, a piece of the Sukkah was lost and Rabbi Read more

California Passes Unnecessary Law with No Fanfare

The state of California recently passed a law — SB1140 — that explicitly states clergy are not required to perform homosexual ceremonies.  The law is naturally intended to protect those who might have faced attacks — potentially through equal opportunity or even IRS channels — against religious leaders who act on their faith in opposition to homosexuality:

A person…shall not be required to solemnize a marriage that is contrary to the tenets of his or her faith. Any refusal to solemnize a marriage…shall not affect the tax-exempt status of any entity.

Notably, no law required clergy to act against their faith.  The law was a preemptive Read more

Chaplain Promotes Comprehensive Fitness in Afghanistan

US Army Chaplain (Capt) Randy Loux is a Fort Bragg-based Soldier currently deployed to Afghanistan to exercise his specialty in “spiritual strength.”

“Whether back in garrison at Fort Bragg, N.C., or in a combat zone in Afghanistan, spiritual fitness should be the no. 1 priority because when a soldier is first and foremost ‘spiritually fit,’ then all the others will naturally fall in place,” said Loux.

He accurately notes something that escapes some who oppose religious freedom in the military:  Read more

Comfort Amid Cruelty: Christian Doc on Serving in Afghanistan

As a Christian surgeon deployed to Afghanistan, some tragedies will forever be burned into my memory. One such experience happened during a mass casualty situation. A vehicle-borne IED detonated in a public place, killing several Afghanis and injuring eight, including a six-year-old boy… 
 
Before long, the sound of two arriving Black Hawk helicopters thundered throughout the ER. The trauma teams quickly and skillfully began treating the incoming patients—securing airways, placing chest tubes, starting IVs, and taking X-rays while assessing injuries. 

When the boy was brought in…

Read more.  You won’t be disappointed.

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