Tag Archives: religious freedom

US Military Chaplains Meet with Tanzanian Religious Leaders

US Navy Chaplain (CAPT) Jon Cutler is the director of Religious Affairs for CJTF – Horn of Africa.  In late July, he met with religious leaders in Tanzania to communicate the US military’s religious freedom and coordinate for future cooperation.

Cutler highlighted the US military’s religious plurality and freedom to his hosts in East Africa:

“My close friend and Muslim Imam, Shakur Ali, Africa command chaplain [U.S. Air Force Colonel] Jerry Lewis, and I are visiting Dar es Salaam from August 10 to 15 [during Ramadan],” Cutler told the religious leaders. “It’s unheard of for a Jew, Christian and Muslim to be friends Read more

US Army to Fund Atheist Rock Beyond Belief?

Not everyone can be right all the time, but when it comes to journalists, you think they’d at least try.

Reprinted at the Huffington Post, Religion News Service writer Kimberly Winston wrote on the recently approved “Rock Beyond Belief” to occur at Fort Bragg next spring.  Her article reads like a press release, not a news report.  Explaining the background of “Rock Beyond Belief,” she says

[Rock the Fort], staged by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, received more than $50,000 in financial support from the base, according to records obtained by local atheists through the Freedom of Information Act.

As the Army already pointed out, that’s a mischaracterization of the “records obtained.”

Winston then makes a statement that is known to be categorically untrue:  Read more

National Guard Chaplain Preaches at 0245

US Army Chaplain (1Lt) Daryl Thul has been supporting the National Guard Soldiers who have been working 24/7 on flood duty in Minot, North Dakota.  He’s made a special effort to meet the spiritual needs of the night shift, which is often sleeping during traditional religious service times.

So he preaches a Protestant service 0245.

Attendance is good because Thul, and his assistant, Pfc. Matthew O’Brien, take the service to the troops.

“I go to the soldiers Read more

Catholics and Air Force Nuclear Weapons

Bill Donohue, president of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, wrote a letter to General Edward Rice, the Commander of Air Education and Training Command.  AETC oversees the training program at Vandenberg Air Force Base, which recently dropped a course because, depending on who you ask, it used Bible verses.  Calling the Air Force’s decision to pull the class “wrongheaded,” he says

[T]here is absolutely nothing in the Constitution of the United States that disqualifies a presentation of St. Augustine’s “just war theory,” and related biblical references. In fact, the First Amendment protects freedom of speech, as well as religious liberty…Moreover, biblical passages are often cited when referencing the work of Rev. Martin Luther King. Should we similarly censor them?

I have read the materials used in the class, and can assure you that no one — save an anti-religious zealot — would find fault with them. I therefore urge you to stand fast against these bullies and do what is academically right and constitutionally protected: reinstate the class.

He also notes that Michael Weinstein is a Read more

Liberty Counsel Defends Air Force Nuke Training

In what may be one of the more unbiased presentations of the “media controversy” thus far, the Christian Post presents a somewhat fuller picture of the nuclear missile officer course that floated to the surface a few days ago.  They are the first large media organization to highlight the fact the brief wasn’t exclusively Christian:

The section also cited biblical figures including Abraham, Samson and David as religious figures that fought wars in a righteous manner. Additionally, a picture of a menorah was featured on a slide highlighting the Maccabees’ revolt against their oppressors.

In fact, they are also the first to consciously highlight that the brief wasn’t even exclusively religious:  Read more

Air Force Pulls Nuke Training over Religion Complaint

A variety of news sources are now reporting the US Air Force ended a training class after an internet article belittled its religious content.  Contrary to some assertions, this is actually not a big deal.

This much has been accurately reported:  The Air Force training slides had Bible verses, and the course was led by a Chaplain.  There was a public article.  The Air Force pulled the course to “review it.”

Beyond that, much of the other reporting has been misrepresented or inaccurate.

The Washington Post said

The Air Force has suspended a training course for nuclear missile launch officers that used Bible passages and religious imagery to teach them about the ethics of war.

Unfortunately, that’s essentially a misrepresentation, likely because the conclusion was drawn solely from a copy of the slides used in the brief — sans notes or context.  The course did not use Biblical citations to teach ethics.  The ~40-slide PowerPoint presentation was an ethical discussion on the conduct of war, with emphasis on the application of nuclear weapons.  (The title of the first seven slides is “Ethics;” the second section is “Nuclear Ethics and Nuclear Warfare.”)

The course’s focus was to address common Read more

The US Marine Corps and Opinions on Homosexuality

The text of the briefs given to US servicemembers on the repeal of the policy known as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” is publicly available. Notably, it starts out with this phrase:

This brief is NOT an attempt to change anyone’s opinion about the subject of homosexuality. [emphasis original]

Later, the presentation says this:

There Is No Expectation To Change Religious or Moral Views: Soldiers will not be expected to change their personal views and religious beliefs. They must, however, continue to treat all Soldiers with dignity and respect. [formatting original]

With that in mind, the Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps, SgtMaj Michael Barrett, toured bases in the Pacific with the Commandant of the Marine Corps General James Amos in June. Addressing DADT Read more

Atheist Rock Beyond Belief Announces Approval

“Rock Beyond Belief” — the self-described atheist counter-event to the Christian “Rock the Fort” — has announced that Fort Bragg has agreed to allow it to hold its festival next March on the Army post.  While there is a bit of celebration on their part, its worth noting Fort Bragg also approved their request for last spring; RBB just decided to cancel itself at the time (and then allowed Michael Weinstein to equate the Army with racists over the incident).

The statement makes no reference to what changed, other than Read more

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