Continue reading »]]> The Sgt Skeptic Podcast, Episode 1, Operation Asshat

Hey everyone.  Just a quick post to let everyone know Paul, myself and two fellow atheists will be hosting the first episode of the Sgt Skeptic Podcast, a podcast discussing topics relating to atheism, skepticism and the military.  This is our first episode so don’t expect everything to go smoothly.  You can listen live, participate in the chatroom, and even call in if you have something to say.  Link to the show, with all the information is here.  The show starts at 8pm Mountain Time, 7pm Pacific, 9pm Central, and 10pm on the East coast.  Hope to see/hear from you.

Continue reading »]]>

Thank You, Representative Huelskamp!

The Huelskamp Amendment:

1 SEC. 5__. MEETINGS WITH RESPECT TO RELIGIOUS LIBERTY.

 (a) NOTICE.— (1) IN GENERAL.—The Department of Defense shall provide to the Committee on Armed Services of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate advance written notice of any meeting to be held between Department employees and civilians for the purpose of writing, revising, issuing, implementing, enforcing, or seeking advice, input, or counsel regarding military policy related to religious liberty. (2) CONTENTS OF NOTICE.—Notice provided under paragraph (1) shall include information on the time, date, location, and anticipated attendees of the meeting and information on who initiated the meeting. (3) VERBAL NOTICE.—If a meeting to which this subsection applies is scheduled less than 24 hours in advance of the meeting, the notice requirement under paragraph (1) may be satisfied by a phone call if Committee staff provide verbal confirmation of receipt of the notice.

(b) REPORTS.— Not later than 72 hours after the conclusion of a meeting to which subsection (a) applies, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the Committee on Armed Services of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate a report on the meeting, which shall include information on the time, date, location, duration, and attendees of the meeting and information on who initiated the meeting.

What does this mean?

It’s what we in the foxhole atheist movement have been trying to do for YEARS. This centralizes all the information we have been submitting FOIA requests for in order to get equal treatment under the law. This does the exact opposite of the proposed purpose of the amendment. – namely –> to stop us!

American Atheists has nothing to hide. Neither does the intended “victim” MRFF. Bring it on, Huelskamp! And thanks for supporting the foxhole atheists!

I am writing a letter of thanks to let him know how happy I am that he not only proposed this amendment but got it passed in the House of Representatives. You should let him know how you feel, too!

Find him on twitter: @CongHuelskamp Send him some encouragement.

Continue reading »]]>

June 13, 2013

The extreme fundamentalists have convinced the members of Congress, and specifically the House of Representatives, that Mikey Weinstein and MRFF are anti-Christian activists despite the fact that over 96% of their clients are indeed Christian service members.

Tim Huelskamp (pictured above) of Kansas proposed the “Huelskamp Amendment” to the National Defense Authorization Act 2014. The “Huelskamp Amendment” states:

1 SEC. 5__. MEETINGS WITH RESPECT TO RELIGIOUS LIBERTY.

 (a) NOTICE.— (1) IN GENERAL.—The Department of Defense shall provide to the Committee on Armed Services of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate advance written notice of any meeting to be held between Department employees and civilians for the purpose of writing, revising, issuing, implementing, enforcing, or seeking advice, input, or counsel regarding military policy related to religious liberty. (2) CONTENTS OF NOTICE.—Notice provided under paragraph (1) shall include information on the time, date, location, and anticipated attendees of the meeting and information on who initiated the meeting. (3) VERBAL NOTICE.—If a meeting to which this subsection applies is scheduled less than 24 hours in advance of the meeting, the notice requirement under paragraph (1) may be satisfied by a phone call if Committee staff provide verbal confirmation of receipt of the notice.

(b) REPORTS.— Not later than 72 hours after the conclusion of a meeting to which subsection (a) applies, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the Committee on Armed Services of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate a report on the meeting, which shall include information on the time, date, location, duration, and attendees of the meeting and information on who initiated the meeting.

Now all this sounds rather ambiguous if it weren’t specifically directed towards one man: Mikey Weinstein.

I couldn’t believe it, myself, when I laid eyes on that. On the Congressman’s page it directly points out that it is going after the Military Religious Freedom Foundation and Mikey Weinstein. In fact the demonization goes even further with a 25-list about the ‘hate speech’ that is mongered by Mikey. There are even links.

The only problem with this? The ‘hate speech’ is cherry-picked (much like this Congressman probably does with his own bible) and half the links come from hate-sites. In fact one is from a now-defunct blog that was being operated by a Christian bully in uniform. It was shut down by the Air Force because of its putrid content and hateful degrading speech. But I digress….

Read the congressman’s website here for yourself. If he decides to edit or delete any of his webpage I have saved a copy of it and screenshot the entire thing. I’ll just repost it someplace else to make sure he doesn’t try and distance himself from his idiocy.

What in the actual fu….

Yeah. That was my friend’s response. What is the reason for this? Quite simply this dumb Congressman doesn’t know the Constitution or the Uniform Code of Military Justice. For a long time the Fundamentalist Christians didn’t either. But they are ALL learning now thanks in large part to the efforts of MRFF and American Atheists (for whom I work). Let’s see what Representative Huelskamp had to say about this

Seriously?! Does this guy not get it. Okay here are the facts:

• The Fundamentalists have been circumventing military regulation for years
• Mikey started fighting the Fundies and making them enforce the regulations
• The Fundies got their hatefulness shut down by military brass and civilian officials
• The Fundies cried foul because they weren’t allowed to carry on with their “keep up the hate of gays” campaign
• Breitbart, FoxNews, and other conservative pundits spouted nonsensical articles about ‘Christian Punishment’

So when the legislation from NDAA 2013 was passed it appears that they actually started enforcing religious equality across the different branches of the military. This moronic Congressman is now angry that they are….

following the law!

So now in an attempt to better understand why the “Christian Taliban” are being stamped out — they are hateful bigots and extremists — he wants a letter every time Mikey (or I — or pretty much anyone) talk(s) to any member of the Pentagon about religious matters.

The concern is whether or not these acts will pressure the officials to stop meeting with Mikey and others, and if they will allow the fundamentalists to continue with their message of hate. This Congressman doesn’t seem to understand that when you take an oath to serve your nation you are giving up some of your rights. You no longer have the right to spout hateful speech. You no longer have the right to discriminate. Yes, that may be a right that civilians have. But you give that up. Your freedom of speech is no longer unfettered. Your freedom to proselytize and attempt to convert people by coercion is gone. You can believe and live however you want as long as it brings no harm to others. But you have to be accepting and acknowledging of others.

It’s the US Military not the Christian Bookstore.

For more ridiculousness click below

Ridiculous 1

Ridiculous 2

Ridiculous 3

I’ll be writing more on this and probably addressing some members of Congress and the White House as well.

Continue reading »]]> The toughest job in the military?

We’ve all seen it portrayed in fiction. Unfortunately, you or someone you know may have experienced it first hand. One of the hardest tasks any uniformed servicemember could ever perform: notifying the next of kin of a fallen comrade.  According to the U.S. Army, the “casualty notification team” will consist of  ”the Casualty Notification Officer and a Chaplain“. If the National Defense Authorization Act of 2014 passes with an amendment introduced by New Jersey Representative Rob Andrews , an open atheist may just make up one-half of that team.

The act, officially known as House Resolution 1960, contained an amendment authorizing Atheists and Humanists to become chaplains in all branches of the armed forces.  This seemingly benign amendment, as with most actions seeking to treat atheists as human beings, pissed off conservatives.

Perhaps the most egregious objection to the amendment was offered by Rep. Mike Conaway of Texas:

“I can’t imagine an atheist accompanying a notification team as they go into some family’s home to let them have the worst news of their life and this guy says, ‘You know, that’s it — your son’s just worms, I mean, worm food.’”  

Frankly, I find Mr. Conaway’s assertion insulting. Atheists hold many of the same values and beliefs religious people hold, we just don’t view it in the framework of a supernatural deity and an afterlife. Rather than making empty promises of an afterlife, I’d picture an atheist chaplain comforting the family with the notion that their loved one died serving something greater than themselves and saving the life of their brothers and sisters in arms.

Thankfully, reason and sanity were restored by Adam Smith of Washington State:

“To say that an atheist or a humanist doesn’t believe anything is just ignorant”

You can watch a clip of the debate over the amendment here.

Unsurprisingly, the amendment failed to pass the House Armed Services Committee, which is dominated by a political party openly hostile to the rights of atheists.

The Resurrection

Fortunately, the calls and emails from freethinkers and their supporters from all over the country made an impact: The amendment will be reintroduced when the bill is debated before the entire house tomorrow.

TAKE ACTION!

The bill may be voted on tomorrow, but there’s still time to make an impact. Call or email your congressman and let them know that you support equal treatment for non-believers.

Continue reading »]]>

Christian War Memorial on public property at MAJ Dowty’s place of duty, Eglin AFB

For years, Major Jonathan C. Dowty has used his rank and his blog, Christian Fighter Pilot, to spread a message of hate and sedition.  Through that blog he regularly decried the terror he lived under…as a Christian being forced to serve with homosexuals.  He actively harassed subordinates, many of them clients of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, that did not conform to his “spiritually transformed military, with ambassadors for Christ in uniform, empowered by the Holy Spirit.”  He did so with the silent consent of his superiors, comforted by the knowledge that even when public appeals were made he would not face reprimand for his brazen disregard of the law.  Thankfully, that time has passed.  Major Dowty’s blog has at long last been discontinued (at least until July 15th), and his vulgar publications have been taken down.

This apparent lawfully mandated action has not gone unnoticed by those who claim “Christian persecution.”  The argument put forward by Todd Starnes of Fox News, Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council and the likes of Major Jonathan Dowty is essentially that it is a violation of our service members’ constitutional rights to free speech and freedom of religion to prevent them from preaching against the “dangerous behavior” of homosexuality.  The account of the fate of what is almost certainly Major Dowty’s blog sounds somewhat different in Mr. Starnes’ words:

a service member received a ‘severe and possibly career-ending reprimand’ for expressing his faith’s religious position about homosexuality in a personal religious blog.

He neglected to include mention of Major Dowty’s rampant denigration of homosexuals.  Of course, it is reasonable to assume that Starnes would agree with Dowty’s assertions that condoning or even passively allowing homosexual behavior will lead to bestiality, and that we can blame the sexual assaults in our military on the repeal of DADT.

The Colorado Springs Gazette, a habitually conservative paper, succinctly drove this bizarre massage home in an article which glorified the values of academic freedom:

…genuine tolerance requires that we tolerate intolerance…We object to the Ku Klux Klan but defend their right to profess radical hatred.

The failure of this argument is that the freedom to spread hate stops when you don the uniform of our armed forces, or any state-appointed civil servant for that matter.  The hierarchical nature of government places individuals in positions of significant power over others, and to use that power to spread hate is abusive of any position of legal authority.  Teachers may not segregate classrooms.  Police officers cannot profile.  Judges cannot bring their bigotry to the bench.  Military officers cannot discriminate between godly and un-godly subordinates.  Should they choose to do so, they become criminals.

Curiously, persecuted Christian soldiers have found a new religious right to defend outside of their right to hate homosexuals.  It seems that the new marching order for the godless armies of liberalism is to destroy the good Christian soldier’s right to insubordination (when religiously justified of course).  A recent story about the alleged persecution of Army Master Sergeant Nathan Sommers claims that his religious freedom has been abused because he has been counseled on the inappropriateness of actively protesting his Commander in Chief.  This story is a monumental admission by conservatives that they cannot discern the difference between religion and politics.

As a soldier myself, when asked about my opinion of then President George W. Bush, my responses were censored.  I responded with things like, “I cannot answer that question” or “he is my commander in chief and I can’t get into this” knowing that to be disloyal to the president while in the military is criminal.  In 2009, I witnessed a senior officer with the gall to speak at length about his disapproval of President Obama in the presence of a JAG officer.  The result?  He was abruptly advised that what he was doing was criminal and would be reported if he did not stop.  The senior officer acknowledged that what he was doing was illegal, and ceased his insubordination.  This is not a religious issue.  Yet when Master Sergeant Sommers was censored for his “NObama” bumper sticker and for tweeting “In honor of DADT repeal, and Obama/Holder’s refusal to enforce DOMA act, I’m serving Chick-fil-A at my MSG promo reception for Army today” he cried foul.

“Ironically, the liberals are preaching tolerance,” he said. “They are saying, ‘We can tolerate you.’ But if you have a certain belief that doesn’t align with what the military wants you to believe – particularly religious beliefs – you’re no longer welcome in the U.S. military.”

Imagine a religion which dictated a soldier smoke marijuana twice a day during ritual prayer.  Would their religious rights be infringed upon if the military enforced its zero tolerance policy on drug use?  After all, the soldier would not be doing anything but practicing their religion.  Imagine a soldier holding a faith which prevented them from wearing an Army uniform.  Would their religious rights be in the cross-hairs as well?  Imagine a religion which required a soldier be disloyal to their superiors and disrespectful to their subordinates.  Well, you don’t have to imagine that, because it already exists as demonstrated by Major Dowty and Master Sergeant Sommers.

Conservative extremists have perverted what could and should be a religion of peace and love.  While it is only a vocal minority doing so, the damages of the Major Dowtys of the world who use Christianity as an excuse to bully others continues to negatively impact the lives of many.  Perhaps a good hard look into the Bible would calm the waters:

1 Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.2 Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. 3 For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and you will be commended. 4 For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. 5 Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also as a matter of conscience.

-Romans 13 (NIV)

Continue reading »]]> New site changes means new graphics!! We want your help, and to make you a part of the team! 

Right now what we need is a new facebook coverphoto, profile pic, twitter background. There is no prize except pride in helping and showing off your work. We might even need your help later with something a little bigger. 

Remember this is dedicated to foxhole atheists!! Make it patriotic, atheistic most important, have fun and get creative! :) 

Cat

Continue reading »]]> Greetings

I have ideas on topics to post about however, after reading Casey’s introduction I realized before getting started I should probably write introduction of my own. I don’t know about you, I find it difficult sometimes to talk about myself. I am never without something to say as long as the topic is not me, :)

My name is Cat Burns, I have been a non-believer throughout my life. It wasn’t until 2007 when I took the “atheist” label. I started volunteering in the atheist community about a year and a half ago as a CA District Leader. State Chapter Secretary and then Western Regional Outreach Coordinator for National Atheist Party. I met Paul Loebe at Orange County Freethought Alliance conference in Irvine, CA 2012 and had the honor or working with him for the past year with Rock Beyond Belief for planning Rock Beyond Belief 2. I recently started being an event organizer for a local chapter of Backyard Skeptics and am also the Fundraising Director for Secular Coalition for CA which is a state chapter of The Secular Coalition for America.

Whew! That’s over..

Now that I have given my full atheist resume I want to also let you know I am not now, nor ever have been, a member of any military branch or service. I am a just civilian who cares deeply for the fact that members of our military are being treated unjustly. I am a civilian perturbed that this country allows the men and women who fight for our freedom to be denied their own freedom because of religious bias.

I am not someone who has always been into activism, as far as politics went my attitude was that of apathy. I know what it is like to try and run a business, raise a family and feel like there is not much you can do for the sorry state of affairs of our nation. What I told myself was, “what can I do? I am one person!” At the times I felt I had to DO SOMETHING I had no idea what to do, where do I start?

What to do and where to start are much easier questions to answer now.

What can YOU do!!!

If you are an atheist and interested in getting involved, there are organizations both large and grassroots in need of your support. Rock Beyond Belief is looking for volunteers as well. (I’m sorry the link doesn’t work so well — we’re rebuilding the website at the moment) If you are interested and not sure what to do next, please drop me a line.

Gratuitous Cat Meme

Continue reading »]]>

Yes even the chaplains…

I received one of my frequent emails from Mikey Weinstein over at MRFF. MRFF has been demonized constantly by the religious right in the last few weeks as being a hate organization and it couldn’t be further from the truth. They’ve been nominated for NUMEROUS Nobel Peace Prizes and just recently were accepted into the CFC’s donation drive.

The CFC is the Combined Federal Campaign. Every year the command is required to give everyone in the military an opportunity to donate to the multiple agencies that have been approved by the federal government and the DOD as good agencies. Getting onto that list is no small feat and requires subjecting one’s organization to a rigorous approval process. Of course if you are a legitimate non-profit that helps people you should have no problem with that. Clearly, MRFF has had no problem with that. However….

The email sent to Mikey from an active-duty Chaplain brings up some real concerns:

Dear MRFF,

I’m really happy you’ll be on CFC and will give to you through CFC without reservation, but as we get near campaign season, get ready for the corruption of the human element — it’s regular servicemembers who are serving as CFC reps and collecting the contribution forms, so I wouldn’t be surprised if there was some “outing” of MRFF supporters giving through CFC.  If that happens, consider a push for the military to allow website-based CFC signups, or some other mechanism that safeguards folks from retaliation.  I’ve had really conservative chaplain assistants take my forms, and it gives me pause.

As an active duty Air Force chaplain, I’m thankful for your work.  I just pray I can make it to twenty years without the dominionists stepping on me, and pray that enough open-minded, constitutionally aware chaplains make it to higher ranks to reform the system from within.

(anonymously) Chaplain,  (Active Duty USAF Chaplain’s name, rank, military unit and military installation withheld)

 

So even though MRFF is now on the Combined Federal Campaign list, because it is a paper donation people can still be targeted for donating to an organization that was designed to protect their constitutional religious rights. In most cases that might be overstating it. I know I fully intend to donate my money between MRFF and the Navy Marine Corps Relief Society. But if it’s a legitimate fear of an active duty chaplain….then just how bad is it?

Name withheld — then it’s bullshit!

Wrong! I’ve seen so many people accuse me and Mikey of lying because clients of MRFF and other people that contact me wish to keep their identities anonymous. Even if someone is willing to reach out to us doesn’t mean that they are willing to sacrifice putting food on the table for their loved ones. Sometimes paying the bills and feeding the kids take a priority over their own constitutional right to religious freedom.

There’s nothing wrong with that either. It just gets tiring listening to people who claim that religious discrimination never happens. I’ve only ever dealt with atheists who have problems. MRFF has 33,000 clients and 96% of them are Christians who want protection from Fundmentalist Evangelical Christians. And now we even have a chaplain….

It’s not really all that bad?

This doesn’t mean I think the atheists should go back into hiding or even all of us come out at once. As Casey said in the last blog coming out is a good thing. In fact studies have shown that people aren’t “disgusted” by atheists, they just “distrust” us. And that’s only because they don’t there are that many of us out there and that we are their neighbors, families, and friends.

To each their own, however. I understand if you have the need to hide. I understand if feeding your family is more important than adverse career marks or a bad discharge. I’m totally behind you putting family first. It’s just not my style.

Maybe the best solution (and I’ve said this all along) would be a “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy for religion in the military. It would make life a whole lot simpler.

Or maybe the CFC donations should be done electronically now so that no fundamentalist commander can sift through them at his leisure to see who openly donates to this “monstrous” organization that fights for religious freedom.

Continue reading »]]>

Introductions are necessary

My name is Casey Leavings and I am an active duty AIr Force member. I’ve been in for almost ten years and I have been an out and proud atheist for eight. I have been fortunate enough to have never been forced into the corner for my lack of beliefs. When I heard about the extreme pressures that others in uniform have been put under for holding the same beliefs I adhere to, I felt that I had no choice but to step into the activist movement and the blogosphere. These are my brothers and sisters in arms who have taken an oath to uphold  the Constituiton while their own right to freedom of (and from) religion is being denied.

My preconceived notions

Last night, I posted on my Facebook wall that I was making my first foray into the blogosphere by joining as a contributor on the Rock Beyond Belief page. That post sparked a conversation between myself and a junior airman. He asked me what I was blogging about and I simply replied that the blog related to atheism and secular issues in the military. I must admit that I misjudged this individual. I expected the typical litany of responses from the religious that I have received time and again:

• “Why don’t you believe in god?”
• “How can you be moral without a higher power to answer to?”
• My absolute favorite, the derisive and dismissive “I’ll pray for you”.

His response was none of these. Instead, he said “You know, you’re the first atheist I’ve ever met”.

Others preconceived notions

I recount that story with this point in mind: YOU may be the only atheist many of your coworkers know (even if they don’t know it yet).  To them, you’re the public face of atheism. I don’t need to remind you that atheists are constantly maligned in popular culture and the media.

We’re described as baby-eating reprobates with no moral foundation. We’re constantly told to keep our non-belief to ourselves, while we’re expected to silently endure the openly Christian culture that permeates the military and society as a whole. By openly admitting your atheism and being a respectable, moral person, you’re combating the constant stream of propaganda seeking to marginalize our movement.. In the past couple of days, Rock Beyond Belief has featured articles about atheists in the military who suffered negative consequences for being open and honest about their non-belief. Unfortunately, discrimination is still a reality for many servicemembers in hostile units with “leaders” who are aggressive fundamentalists seeking to convert those they command.. The tide is slowly turning, however, thanks to individual marines, sailors, soldiers, airmen and coastguardsmen who aren’t afraid to show their comrades that non-believers are just as moral as anyone else.

If you haven’t already, consider making your atheism more public. Don’t be afraid to mention your non-belief in casual conversation and honestly answer questions anyone might have. Be the public face of freethought  in your unit. You may just be the only one they know.

In fact the latest studies show the biggest path to acceptance for the atheist community and foxhole atheists is to let your non-belief be known.

Continue reading »]]>

The recent flurry shit-storm of news surrounding the myth of Christian persecution in the military has left many of our representatives in congress deluded about the realities of the aims of secular activists.  Through this conflagration, one story of hope has floated to the surface.  The story I’m referring to was the recent submission of an amendment to H.R. 1960 which would allow Humanist Chaplains to serve in our military.  After I saw this I was inspired to take a few seconds of my life to click send, along with many others, on a message to my representative prepared by the Secular Coalition for America.  I never expected a response from my congressman (he is a Republican after all) but much to my surprise, I got one! What follows is a brief e-mail exchange between myself and (most likely an intern or computer representing…) Congressman Erik Paulsen (R-MN 3rd District).

 

“I am writing to urge you to support Congressman Robert Andrews’ (D-NJ) amendment to H.R. 1960, which would allow nontheistic chaplains in the Chaplain Corps of the Armed Forces.

Military chaplains are crucial for nontheistic and religiously unaffiliated service members—who make up 23 percent of the armed services.

Religious chaplains are ill equipped to handle the problems of nontheistic service members and unfortunately, seeking psychiatric help can stigmatize a service member for the rest of their career.

Our nontheistic service members sacrifice for all Americans daily. The very least we can do is make sure all of our service members have access to those who can offer them needed help. It’s the least we can do. They absolutely deserve it.”

 

 ——————————————————————————-

Erik Paulsen (R-MN 3rd District)

 

Dear Blake:
Thank you for sharing your concerns about religious freedom in our Armed Forces and the leadership of Air Force Secretary Michael Donley and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta.

As you may know, there have been reports of religious intolerance in the military, including the removal of bibles from airmen’s rooms and the Air Force Academy dropping “Operation Christmas Child” from its officially sponsored charity drives. In response to these concerns, my office has made an inquiry with the Air Force Liaison’s office.

According to the Air Force, while Bibles are no longer included on the standard checklist provided for each Air Force-approved lodging facility, no one has ordered the removal of Bibles and the majority of the rooms at these facilities still contain copies of the Bible. In addition, the Air Force Academy no longer includes “Operation Christmas Child” as an officially sponsored charity drive, but the Air Force insists that students are not only still allowed to donate, but are actively encouraged to participate in drives like “Operation Christmas Child.”

I will continue to support the protection of religious freedom for our service members and will oppose any legislation that infringes on those rights.

Thanks again for sharing your concerns, as I appreciate hearing from you.  Please let me know whenever I can be of assistance.

Sincerely,

Erik Paulsen

Member of Congress

 

——————————————————————————-

Congressman Paulsen,

 

Thank you for your response.  It does appear to be an out of date pre-fabricated response e-mail though.  Leon Panetta is no longer the Secretary of Defense.  Aside from that, your position as described is something of great concern to me and I hope that you take the time to read and genuinely consider what I have to say.

 

I have worked closely with several of the organizations (most closely with the Military Religious Freedom Foundation) which have been the drivers of these changes that you claim to be examples of religious intolerance and am a veteran myself.  Your characterization of the distancing of command from endorsement of Christianity as “intolerance” is misguided.  While I am sure that you identify as a Christian yourself, I do not.  I am a Humanist.  Imagine if the United States had as its majority Humanists instead of Christians.  In this world, would you consider it “religious freedom” for Humanist leaders in the military to use their authority to encourage people to join Humanist groups, celebrate Humanistic values or donate to Humanist charities?  Would you respect the decision of leaders who share my beliefs filling government buildings or lodging with Humanist literature to spread the word of the happiness that comes from a naturalistic understanding of the world?  Would you call it an infringement on the freedom of the majority in this theoretical world if Christians demanded that their leaders stop endorsing Humanism above all other religions?  I have my doubts.

 

Many people, like yourself, erroneously believe that a  secular government is an atheist government.  This is simply not true.  The opposite of “In God We Trust” is “There is no God” not the neutral stance which is demanded by our constitution.  For our military to truly defend the founding document of this country its leaders can neither profess or deny any religion through the use of authority.  A pluralistic society cannot operate effectively under the tyranny of the majority.  How can you truly believe that it is “intolerance” that prevents our military from fighting our wars under the Christian flag instead of the American flag?

 

Imagine if the military refused to have Christian chaplains or did not allow Christians to self-identify as such.  Would you find that just?  Yesterday the House Armed Services Committee vehemently opposed allowing Humanists equal access to the myriad services offered by chaplains, and we are still not allowed to acknowledge our beliefs on our service records.  That, Mr. Paulsen, is intolerance.  That is the active denial of freedom, that is bigotry, and sadly, that is our present reality.

 

I have no interest or desire to live in a country where people of any religion are told that they are not good enough because of their personal philosophical beliefs (so long as those beliefs do not include the infringement of liberty of others).  I will continue to actively defend the rights of all service members to practice the religion of their choosing free of interdiction from their superiors.  I hope that you can one day find the courage to do the same.  If you have any interest in learning about the Military Religious Freedom Foundation and what our real mission is, free of the veneer of media bias, I would be more than happy to talk with you over the phone or in person.

 

Sincerely,

 

Blake A. Page

Military Religious Freedom Foundation

Special Assistant to the President

Director of West Point Affairs

       Perhaps Mr. Paulsen can’t empathize with those of us who would appreciate a Humanist chaplaincy.  Regardless, the need for them will continue to exist.  As a soldier, I experienced several instances where a Humanist chaplain would have been a godsend (pun intended).  The most jarring example was after my dad killed himself.  I was given an order by a superior officer to go meet with a chaplain immediately after returning from emergency leave.  Admittedly, I needed some counseling, but that meeting went from one of genuine concern to one of shaming very quickly.

•  ”Well you know if you just let the lord into your heart he will take the pain away.”
• “Why can’t you just accept Jesus?  If you really try to believe this time won’t be so difficult for you.”

Being told that you are not, and never will be, strong enough to overcome a loss without religion at a time like that is nothing short of abusive.  Every day there are other soldiers, airmen, marines, or sailors given the same choice: seek help from a chaplain and be berated for not having faith, go to mental health at the risk of shaming by peers, or keep your troubles to yourself.  In an Army with record high suicide rates, how can any leader justify refusing to offer Humanists this valuable resource?

     The vacuum of support for non-believers in the military is something that has impacted my life directly.  Maybe it hasn’t caused you trouble yet and you are on the fence about the utility of Humanist chaplains, but I assure you that there are thousands of real people in genuine need of them.  I hope you can do your part to help by reaching out to your representative and asking why they would deny us equal treatment under the law.  If you happen to live in MN 3rd, or would like to help me sway my representative’s stance, Erik Paulsen can be reached at congressman.paulsen@housemail.house.gov.