c. 2005 Religion News Service

(UNDATED) When it comes to America’s cherished right of religious freedom, the U.S. military is the proverbial canary in the mine shaft. Sadly, the Air Force continues to allow this canary to asphyxiate in the toxic air of religious intolerance.

Nowhere in American society do individuals from so many different ethnic, cultural and religious backgrounds come together on a prolonged and tight-knit basis as they do in the military. Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus and atheists all don uniforms with pride. It is a testimony to this nation’s marvelous tradition of religious pluralism.

This collection of individual views is molded into a cohesive unit able to function cooperatively under the most stressful of circumstances. What makes that possible is the setting aside of potentially divisive differences for the good of the mission. Emphasize the differences and the mission is jeopardized.

Yet that is what is happening today in the Air Force.

Brig. Gen. Cecil R. Richardson, the Air Force deputy chief of chaplains, recently told The New York Times that the “unchurched” are fair game for evangelization. “We will not proselytize, but we reserve the right to evangelize the unchurched,” he said.

Incredibly, Richardson’s comments were meant to help assuage widespread concerns that the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo., has fallen under the inappropriate sway of evangelical Christians intent upon pressuring others _ often their subordinates _ to accept their beliefs. His comments are even more reprehensible as the United States is at war with an enemy that views us as Christian crusaders.

Even worse than Richardson’s failure to exercise appropriate leadership is the failure of his higher-ups in the military chain of command to admonish him in any public way. Where is the leadership we expect from Acting Air Force Secretary Michael L. Dominguez and Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld? Why have they remained mute?

Could it be because they fear upsetting the nation’s evangelical voters, a core constituency of the current administration? Could it be because they share Richardson’s sentiments? Or do they just fail to understand that what is at stake is the weakening of this nation’s constitutionally guaranteed church-state separation?

Richardson attempted to contrast proselytizing, which he characterized as aggressively seeking to convert someone, with evangelizing, which he called a more benign sharing of beliefs as much through deed as word. Dictionaries make no such distinction. In fact, evangelization is overt Christian terminology for the proselytizing process.

Nor did he explain the term “unchurched.” If I attend a synagogue or mosque, am I unchurched? What if the beliefs of my church differ considerably from those taught in Richardson’s church? What if I never set foot in a recognized house of worship but gain inner peace and understanding hiking in the forest, reading the great philosophers, or sitting quietly in contemplation? Who defines “unchurched”?

He also misrepresents the role of the American military chaplain _ a job he voluntarily pledged to fulfill.

Freedom of religion is enshrined in the military’s chaplaincy codes in accordance with the Constitution. The Web site of the Air Force Chaplain Service, for example, notes that key to the job is the “ability to work in (a Department of Defense) directed religious accommodation environment supporting the free exercise of religion for all military personnel and their dependents.”

The Air Force Reserve Command’s chaplaincy Web site adds: “Be sensitive to religious pluralism and provide for the free exercise of religion by all military personnel, their dependents, and other authorized personnel the military service serves.”

“Sensitive to religious pluralism” and “provide for the free exercise of religion by all.” Pretty straightforward, isn’t it?

A military chaplain’s role is akin to that of a universal blood donor. That means the chaplain is there to serve the religious and humanitarian needs of all those in uniform and their families regardless of their belief systems. A successful chaplain is one who is sensitive to the needs of those who are being served.

It is about standing up for religious freedom, and even freedom from religion. It is not about seeking to convince others that you know better. Abide by the terms of the job or resign. If we lose this understanding in the Air Force, we will surely lose it elsewhere.

(Mikey Weinstein, an attorney, businessman and former Reagan White House counsel, lives in New Mexico. He is a 1977 Honor Graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy. His eldest son is a graduate of the Air Force Academy and his youngest son is a third-year cadet there.)

KRE/PH END WEINSTEIN

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