Question regarding your stance on Atheism in the armed forces

Published On: July 14, 2010|Categories: MRFF's Inbox|0 Comments|

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Hello!
Let me start by saying I’m a huge fan of what you are trying, and will, accomplish. If there is one place within the nation that is horribly in need of a reminder of the constitution it would be the Armed Forces.
It is a very important thing to preserve the right of Religious Freedom in all aspects of life… but what of the right for those that choose to not have religion at all such as my family? My father, a form navy man has been an atheist his whole life but on fear of retribution he never shared that secret to anyone but his family. Even today we have friends and family in the armed forces whom claim themselves as atheists and fear the very thought of saying anything about it yet we all are huge supporters for religious tolerance and freedom. Just because we many not believe ourselves doesnt mean we do not think others have the right to believe in something. I bring this up since I havent seen a really stance from your organization on that. Understandably, it may not make sense since those whom are atheistic armed forces don’t really qualify as a “religious freedom” but we do have a right to choose not to believe in a god just as much as any other person as a right to believe in their god(s). Since you are fighting so hard to ensure things change in the Armed Forces and it allows the rights and freedoms stated by the constitution, I am just personally interested if that extends to those whom don’t believe at all as well. My worse fear would be that religious tolerance/freedom finally exists in the military but the atheist members are still subject to retribution and abuse from others.

Cheers,
(name withheld)


Hello (name withheld),
Thank you for your question. I am an atheist, and an Iraq War veteran. The MRFF helped me fight back against religious intolerance that I experienced while serving as an open atheist. The MRFF’s stance on atheism is the same as their stance on any other belief system: All service members and veterans deserve equality regardless of what they believe. In fact, the MRFF has mostly Christian clients! Only about 4% are atheist, pagan, jedi, agnostics, etc. Although the number of atheists we represent is small in proportion, it is equally important that they are represented. We will not stop until ALL faiths are treated equally within the military, with none preferred over the other in any way. I am sorry to hear about your father’s apprehension in revealing his faith. No one serving this great country should have to worry about being open with their religion. That is the OPPOSITE intention of our founding fathers and Constitution. However, I feel even more sorry for those who dare infringe or intimidate those of other faiths in our great military. People like that have broken their allegiance to the Constitution, and we are here to ensure that their crimes are answered for. Thank you for contacting the MRFF!

-Jeremy Hall

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