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Freedom of religion, but for whom?
Editorial
Daily Vidette Editorial Board
Issue date: 4/28/08 Section: Viewpoint
This past March, Specialist Jeremy Hall filed a lawsuit along with the Military Religious Freedom Foundation against the U.S. Military for religious discrimination.
Last July, he held a meeting for atheists at Camp Speicher in Iraq, which Major Freddy Welborn attended. At the meeting, instead of attending as a means to support those particular ideals, Major Welborn told Hall and another soldier that they were not upholding the constitution, and they were going against the founding fathers of this country, who were Christians, according to Hall's sworn statement.
Subsequently, Hall received numerous threats from other soldiers regarding his religious ideas to the point where he was sent home early in November of 2007.
This was not an isolated incident. According to an article in the New York Times, out of 1.36 million active duty service members, 50 formal complaints have been filed with the military since 2005.
While this does not seem like a staggering number, consider that behind the formal complaints, there is probably a higher number of cases of discrimination that have not been filed.
According to Mikey Weinstein, who is a retired Air Force judge advocate general and the founder of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, "official statistics masked the great number of those who do not report violations for fear of retribution." Additionally, he has been contacted by approximately 5,500 service members about occurrences of religious discrimination.
If the military is to support the Constitution, as Major Welborn pointed out to Specialist Hall, then why are they not honoring the First Amendment, which is the right to freedom of religion?
While our founding fathers might have been Christians, if they specified in the First Amendment that citizens protected under the Constitution are allowed the right to practice religion freely, then atheism in the military should probably not be discriminated against.
It is important to realize that the military is a very structured organization, which is probably one of the sources of its strength. However, in the time we are facing now, where the military needs more soldiers, how can discrimination that drives them away be acceptable?
Should religion even be an issue in the military of a nation that contains so much diversity?
Our nation does not expect its citizens to adhere to the same religious beliefs, so why are the members of our military, who protect such citizens, expected to do so?
Those people in Iraq are potentially placing their lives on the line, shouldn't they be allowed whatever religious beliefs, or lack thereof, that they feel are true to themselves?
Last July, he held a meeting for atheists at Camp Speicher in Iraq, which Major Freddy Welborn attended. At the meeting, instead of attending as a means to support those particular ideals, Major Welborn told Hall and another soldier that they were not upholding the constitution, and they were going against the founding fathers of this country, who were Christians, according to Hall's sworn statement.
Subsequently, Hall received numerous threats from other soldiers regarding his religious ideas to the point where he was sent home early in November of 2007.
This was not an isolated incident. According to an article in the New York Times, out of 1.36 million active duty service members, 50 formal complaints have been filed with the military since 2005.
While this does not seem like a staggering number, consider that behind the formal complaints, there is probably a higher number of cases of discrimination that have not been filed.
According to Mikey Weinstein, who is a retired Air Force judge advocate general and the founder of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, "official statistics masked the great number of those who do not report violations for fear of retribution." Additionally, he has been contacted by approximately 5,500 service members about occurrences of religious discrimination.
If the military is to support the Constitution, as Major Welborn pointed out to Specialist Hall, then why are they not honoring the First Amendment, which is the right to freedom of religion?
While our founding fathers might have been Christians, if they specified in the First Amendment that citizens protected under the Constitution are allowed the right to practice religion freely, then atheism in the military should probably not be discriminated against.
It is important to realize that the military is a very structured organization, which is probably one of the sources of its strength. However, in the time we are facing now, where the military needs more soldiers, how can discrimination that drives them away be acceptable?
Should religion even be an issue in the military of a nation that contains so much diversity?
Our nation does not expect its citizens to adhere to the same religious beliefs, so why are the members of our military, who protect such citizens, expected to do so?
Those people in Iraq are potentially placing their lives on the line, shouldn't they be allowed whatever religious beliefs, or lack thereof, that they feel are true to themselves?
Viewing Comments 1 - 3 of 3
Sherry
posted 4/28/08 @ 2:11 PM CST
To be fair, you really should take a look at Major Welborn's myspace page to see what kind of person he is:
myspace.com/freddywelborn
Dan Murphy
posted 4/28/08 @ 5:51 PM CST
It should also be pointed out the basic premise that the "Founding Fathers" of the US were all Christian is simply false. A number advocated against organized religion, and some even held a belief in Deism, not Christianity. (Continued…)
Earla Penn
posted 5/19/08 @ 2:29 PM CST
No matter what kind of a person you are! We are all to enjoy our Consititional Rights!
Why can't one not believe in a God?
What is the military doing sticking their heads into another persons mind (ways of thinking). (Continued…)
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