MilitaryReligiousFreedom.org

Fighting for our servicemembers' rights, so they can fight for ours.

Please consider making a fully tax-deductible donation today.


"The Bible represents faith in a higher power and the pledge to our country, founded as one nation under God."

MRFF Blasts Christian Proselytizing on
Official U.S. Navy Blog

CLICK HERE TO VIEW FULL-SIZE IMAGE

An Open Letter from
MRFF Founder and President Mikey Weinstein to
Admiral Jonathan W. Greenert,
Chief of Naval Operations

Monday, October 13, 2014

Click here to view PDF on MRFF letterhead

Admiral Jonathan W. Greenert
Chief of Naval Operations                                                             
2000 Navy Pentagon
Washington, DC 20350-2000

Dear Admiral Greenert,

The purpose of this letter is to inform you of an egregious and wholly unconstitutional violation committed by the administrators of the official U.S. Navy weblog. On October 6, 2014, this weblog posted an infographic depicting a POW/MIA remembrance table that prominently included a New Testament Bible. The picture included a wholly erroneous and fraudulent representation of our nation's "Christian heritage," stating "The Bible represents faith in a higher power and the pledge to our country, founded as one nation under God." A clearly sectarian and loathsome message such as that being propagated on a website which proudly calls itself "The Official Blog of the U.S. Navy" indicates a complete and utter disregard and disrespect for the No Establishment clause of the First Amendment of the United States Constitution, which the blog unashamedly violates with astonishingly bold and brazen abandon. The mere fact that this disgustingly bigoted statement was apparently able to easily pass through multiple layers of Navy bureaucracy and official hands and become public fodder on the official Navy blog – under the supposedly watchful eyes of senior Navy leadership, no less – is an absolute disgrace and unbridled slap-in-the-face to all of the men and women in uniform who swore an oath to uphold that revered foundational American document.

This pathetic, constitutionally infirm infographic once again falsely portrays the United States as an exclusivist "Christian nation". Further, it labels our nation's military, by proxy, as a Christian Crusader force. Indeed, it will surely result in continued unconstitutional actions by Navy personnel on bases displaying the POW/MIA table in the degrading and unconstitutional manner portrayed on this official Navy blog. Thus, this scurrilous action of fundamentalist Christian supremacy will eviscerate good order, morale, unit cohesion and discipline in our own ranks whilst concomitantly enraging our Islamic allies and emboldening our Islamic enemies at the most unpropitious time possible, given current geopolitical events of heretofore unseen magnitudes of brutality and violence from the likes of ISIS et al.

MRFF hereby demands forthwith that you retract any and all reference to the erroneous and defamatory statement ("The Bible represents faith in a higher power and the pledge to our country, founded as one nation under God"), as well as issue a clear apologetic statement recognizing the fact that the United States was founded upon religious freedom and NOT upon on one specific religious ideology to the exclusion of any and all others or even no faith at all. As it currently stands, a significant percentage (some reliable sources actually cite it as over 31%) of the U.S. Military does not profess a belief in Christianity. While that is a big number indeed, it needn’t be. For as former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor once so sagaciously opined, "In America, we don’t count heads before enforcing the First Amendment." Additionally, the noxious web material noted above is a direct affront to 96% of MRFF's almost 39,000 armed forces and military veteran clients who are practicing Christians, both Roman Catholic and Protestant, yet they all profoundly understand the crucial mandate for constitutional compliance regarding church-state separation within the armed forces.

It’s all about the time, place and manner of religious expression in the U.S. military and the instant matter viciously violates all three. There is nothing open for debate here. This blog entry is a textbook example of what is NOT allowed under our Constitution and its construing federal and state case law. This matter is the proverbial example of an open and shut case.

Admiral, your continued support for the unlawful promotion of this blatantly sectarian, fundamentalist Christian religious material only serves to further erode the treasured trust and confidence that sailors must be able to hold in their Navy leadership.

Remove it immediately. Investigate and aggressively prosecute any and all individuals who are either directly or indirectly responsible for this unconstitutional travesty of prejudice.

Sincerely,
Description: mikey_signature
Michael L. "Mikey" Weinstein, Esq.
Founder and President
Military Religious Freedom Foundation

CC:
The Honorable Chuck Hagel, Secretary of Defense
Ray Mabus, Secretary of the Navy
General Martin E. Dempsey, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Randal G. Mathis, Mathis & Donheiser P.C. - MRFF Lead Trial Counsel


Connect with MRFF:
Mikey Weinstein Facebook Page Mikey Weinstein Twitter Mikey Weinstein Youtube Channel

SUPPORT MRFF!

Your Generous Support Allows us to Continue
our Fight in the Courts and in the Media

The media outlet referenced in the link above has no affiliation with the
Military Religious Freedom Foundation, nor has expressed endorsement thereof.

While we make every effort to ensure that news articles pertaining to our Foundation remain available for you to access,
we are unable to guarantee that the link above will remain online and unchanged indefinitely.