Tag Archives: religious freedom

Buddhist Chaplain Celebrates Vesak

As noted previously, Chaplain (Capt) Somya Malasri recently celebrated the Buddhist Vesak at Joint Base Lewis-McChord.  Chaplain Malasri is reportedly the only active duty Buddhist Chaplain in the US Army.  (Buddhist Chaplain (Lt) Thomas Dyer is in the Army National Guard.)

Like Chaplains of other faiths, Malasri’s presence provides a unique support for members in the military of his faith:

Part of [Chaplain’s Malasri’s] service to others includes providing weekly Buddhist services on base. Spc. Lawrence Ross…attends regularly.
 
“(It gives me) a sense of belonging, where a group can connect without any animosity of judging,” he said.
 
Ross, who became a Buddhist in 2008, says that it has helped him become a better Soldier and that having a Buddhist presence on base helps people see another side of the Army.
 
“It’s not all about kicking down doors and killing people,” he said. “It’s all about helping people. Bottom line.”

Malasri has an interesting take on the apparent contradiction of a Buddhist Chaplain/Soldier — a religion stereotypically “peaceful.”  Read more

Military Atheist Festival at Fort Bragg Gets Funded

“Rock Beyond Belief,” the atheist counter-event to the Billy Graham Evangelical Association’s “Rock the Fort,” has apparently managed to obtain sufficient funding to proceed.  Prior statements seemed to indicate RBB would not back down from its “demand” that Fort Bragg give it money (even as the manufactured controversy “increased [their] funding“).  This continued even after Fort Bragg pointed out “Rock the Fort” was funded from the Christian collection plate, not by the US military. 

Apparently unable to solicit enough general interest from like-minded atheists,  Read more

Thomas More Law Center Defends Patriotic “God Banners”

In a case that has fallen from public view, the Thomas More Law Center has continued to defend Poway teacher Brad Johnson’s right to display banners in his classroom that contain patriotic quotes with “God” in them:

In a classic example of discrimination against anything Christian, the School District allowed religious classroom displays by other teachers, including displays included a 35 to 40-foot string of Tibetan prayer flags Read more

Pagan Leader Resigned over USAFA Treatment

The name of the US Air Force Academy’s “Cadet Chapel Falcon Circle” was noted yesterday in the discussion of its dedication.  In a response to a Washington Times editorial that accused the Academy of “pandering” to fringe ideas, Michael Weinstein now claims USAFA was “insensitive” in the naming of the area, which led to the “resignation” of the pagan lay leader at USAFA.  If you can get past Weinstein’s gratuitously florid language, he says:

The Times article showed a picture [captioned] as “the Pagan lay leader at the Academy.”  Wrong again, Times editorial buffoons.  [The pagan lay leader], a courageous MRFF client, resigned that titular post a fair number of weeks ago in direct protest over the blatant, strong-arming insensitivity, which the Academy was using in the administration of the naming of that stone circle…

Always quick to resort to the grade school antic of name-calling, Weinstein apparently failed to realize the Times didn’t Read more

USAF Academy Chapel Dedicates “Falcon Circle” for Pagans?

The creation of a “pagan area” under the auspices of the US Air Force Academy Cadet Chapel was highly controversial more than a year ago.  Originally, a “dedication” was scheduled in March 2010.  It seems the ceremony was delayed more than a year.

USAFA announced it had dedicated the “Cadet Chapel Falcon Circle” last week on May 3rd.  As previously discussed, the US military does not make a site “sacred,” so the “dedication” seems to have been more ceremonial or functional in nature.

Interestingly, the article seems to indicate a slight tweak on the original purpose of the outdoor chapel.  Originally, USAFA was said to be adding “a worship area for followers of Earth-centered religions.”  The new wording was somewhat more careful this year:  Read more

Chaplain Recalls Impact of Suicide Attack, Impact of His Ministry

US Army Chaplain (Capt) Vincent Hardy was stationed at Bagram, Afghanistan, when a suicide bomber struck a FOB of his unit in mid-April, killing 6 Soldiers.  In the Army Times reprint of The Leaf-Chronicle article, Hardy remembers the fallen he knew so well:

Five of the six soldiers killed were from Hardy’s battalion, the 101st Special Troops Battalion. He knew them all and interacted with them regularly…

Two of the Soldiers obviously depended strongly on the Chaplain for their spiritual support:

Sgt. 1st Class Charles Adkins, described by Hardy as a “man of God,” stayed right next to him in the barracks at Gamberi.

He recalled Sgt. Linda Pierre as an especially devout Read more

Chris Rodda Highlights MRFF Hypocrisy. Again.

The MRFF’s researcher Chris Rodda recently took to the Huffington Post to make hay out of Vice President Joe Biden having rosary beads in the White House situation room during the bin Laden raid, and for the SEAL Team leader saying “For God and Country” in front of the code word “Geronimo” after the successful strike.

The critical tone inspired a slew of comments.  The overwhelming majority — even from self-described “liberals” — were highly critical of Rodda’s article, claiming it was an exercise in finding offense, political correctness, and a suggestion America should surrender its freedoms for appearances.

After a biting critique from a fellow Huffington Post blogger, Rodda tried to explain the logic behind her position, but she actually made it worse:  Read more

Atheist Chaplains, Support, and Actual Atheist Goals

The Catholic archbishop for the military Chaplaincy, Timothy Broglio, responded to the recent NYT article about “atheist Chaplains” by wondering aloud if such a position would be an oxymoron.  Importantly, since atheists can already meet as any other secular group does (like any sports, academic, or other social group), he questioned whether atheists might actually be after a “counter-Chaplaincy” within the Chaplaincy, rather than a positive representation:

“The idea of a ‘chaplaincy’ for atheists seems contradictory,” U.S. Military Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio told CNA. Under present conditions, he said, “it would seem that they could meet and sponsor activities just as many other groups do on installations. Or is the issue here the desire to set up a structure in direct opposition to the chaplaincy?”

He brings up an interesting point.  As noted elsewhere, for atheists to meet the intent of the concept of the Chaplaincy, they would essentially need to acknowledge Read more

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