MRFF In Box
MRFF's Inbox



November 18, 2009

To Mikey Weinstein and The Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF)

I currently work as a civilian federal employee for the United States Army at Redstone Arsenal, Alabama. I've been employed as a civilian government employee for nearly (number of years withheld). My statement below is offered to MRFF because it is the only place I feel safe in expressing such outrage. It is useless and dangerous to officially express such feelings of religious oppression and intolerance via "normal" Army channels such as the Inspector General, the EEO office, the JAG office and , especially, the chain of command as both aggressive, direct and indirect retribution and reprisal will most assuredly be the immediate result for the complainant. MRFF stands quite alone as the only established "safe" refuge to register and report such unconstitutional violations by the armed forces. Actions speak louder than words. Thus, it is only MRFF which ever takes swift action against those violating the Constitution by unlawfully promoting their religious worldviews to fellow military members and personnel in the workplace.

On my first day reporting for duty, I was required to take an oath to defend the United States Constitution against all enemies, both foreign and domestic. Despite being a Christian at the time, I was not required to place my hand on a Bible to fulfill this oath, nor was I required to place my hand on a Qur'an, a Book of Mormon, or any other religious text. However, over the course of my nearly ten year commitment to federal service, it has become apparent that evangelical, fundamentalist Protestant Christianity appears to be the generally accepted and sponsored religion of the U.S. Army here at Redstone Arsenal, Alabama. My guess is that it is also the generally accepted and sponsored religion throughout all U.S. federal branches of service across the country and worldwide.

When I first began working for the Army as a civilian, I was a committed Christian who kept a Bible at his desk for reflection and study during lunch and break time. I was raised by Christian parents, though they were not very religious and never tried to push religion upon me. Nonetheless, it was the religion I was familiar with, and growing up in the Bible Belt, it was the religion of most people I knew. As a result, I eventually was baptized while attending a United Methodist church service. After that day, a fire burned inside of me to seek God and follow his son, Jesus, with all my heart, mind, body, and soul. This lead me to becoming an astute student of the Bible and religion, a passion I continue to this day.

Interestingly, when I would read my Bible as a new Christian working for the federal governement, I would often have people see me reading and ask me questions such as, "Where do you go to Church," "what scripture are you reading," etc. etc. Such questions are common in Alabama, where churches abound and occupy a lot of land, with various denominational churches and worship centers being erected side-by-side. I'm sure that I, too, was guilty of asking people such questions from time to time. For me, their answer is where I ended the conversation. I can't recall ever following the question up with, "So, were you baptized by full immersion, or were you sprinkled over the head with water?"; "Do you believe the Bible is inerrant?"; "Do you believe Jesus and God are equal?"; etc. etc. As a new Christian, I never realized that such questions were that important. Apparently, as I would learn, they were rather important to Christians. In fact, so much so that some Christians refused to acknowledge that other self-professing Christians were actually "Christians" unless they held to certain specific Christian tenants.

As a young student of the Bible, I was always eager to learn anything and everything I could about the Bible. My hope was to know the Bible inside and out, in hopes that it would strengthen my relationship with God. And as I'm sure every student desires, I wanted to know and understand the Bible as God had intended it. So whenever a co-worker of mine would ask me where I went to church, followed up by more theologically motivated questions, I was always willing to answer and discuss various issues that would arise from the conversations. From these conversations, I learned just how differently Christians believed one from another, depending on what denomination they were a member of. It also became apparent to me that my salvation was on the line with every answer I gave to these probing questions. At the time, it didn't bother me that these things were being asked of me in a work setting, much less a federal work setting, since I wasn't very educated as to the legal and/or social implications involved. My only concern was my relationship with God, and ensuring that I was in right standing with him. While most of my co-workers never went past the curiosity of knowing where I went to church, or what my favorite passage was, a few of them had other motives. Primarily, convincing me that their interpretation of the Bible was the correct interpretation.

One person I worked with in particular was always good at asking me the tough questions, and always expected my answers to be supported by the Bible. He was so good, in fact, at asking these questions that he eventually convinced me that I was going to end up in hell for holding false beliefs and not acting in accordance with certain instructions that God expected all "true Christians" to follow. This guy was well versed in his Church of Christ beliefs. So when he found out that I had not been baptized by full immersion, he quickly pointed out to me that the Bible specifically stipulated that all Christians were to be baptized by full immersion, and that this baptism must be so that their sins "could be" forgiven, and not because they "already had been" forgiven, or as just some kind of symbolic expression of faith. I personally didn't accept his position, initially anyway, since I was always taught that simply having faith in Jesus was good enough for me to be saved. And seeing as I believed in a literal hell, with fire and all the torment that comes with it, I wasn't willing to accept that I was going to hell, especially when I loved Jesus and believed in God with all my heart. However, as I continued to read the Bible and prayed for God's Holy Spirit to provide me with his truth and wisdom, and as I continued to be enamored by my co-worker with his own scriptural support of his position, I felt that God's truth and my co-worker's position were aligned.

As a result, I went to work one day and told my co-worker that I wanted to be baptized by full immersion so that my sins could be forgiven, and so that I would be saved from eternal damnation in hell. And as Phillip compelled the Ethiopian eunuch to immediately be baptized as they came upon water, so too my fellow co-worker compelled me to go and immediately be baptized that very day. Since it was always possible, as he told me, that I could go out and get hit by a car, thus dying without having my sins forgiven. So he rushed me to his church to meet with his pastor, who talked to me for about 30 minutes to be sure that I was asking to be baptized for the right reasons. Once he was convinced that I was doing it for the right reasons, there was no reason to stop me from being immediately baptized. Not even the fact that the heater on his baptismal tank had went out, and the water was ice cold, considering it was the middle of winter. Being that I was convinced this was God's purpose for me, I simply viewed that moment as a test of faith by God (though others could have well viewed it as God telling me not to join a false church). His way of seeing if I was one of his true sheep, and whether or not I was willing to truly follow him no matter what the conditions. So, I changed out of my work clothes and into a garment that I was provided for the baptism, and then climbed into the freezing cold water. The pastor climbed into the cold water as well, except that he was wearing a wet suit to help keep him warm. Nonetheless, I was immersed a sinner and raised a "true Christian." Or as my co-worker and his pastor referred to me, a "brother."

Over the course of the next few years, I would continue to seek God's truth by studying the Bible. While I initially remained a fellow "brother" to my co-worker, I would eventually disfellowship myself from the Church of Christ and its teachings. For as the more I studied, the more I began to realize that other Christians no more had the right understanding or way to the "truth" than I did. Especially when the leaders of churches, i.e. ministers, pastors, etc., as well as fellow Christians, were unable to provide me sufficient answers to the tough questions that began to bother me since I had become a Christian---whether I was a "Christian" the first time I was baptized or officially became one after the second time I was baptized. I eventually reached the point that I no longer attached myself to any denomination or way of thinking, and instead was an independent thinker who became less and less religious.

The religious tale-spin that was instigated from my working with a few overzealous people caused me a lot of despair and agony with regards to my relationship with God. At the same time, it made me more conscious of religious differences between people of all faiths, and also those who have no faith at all. It also made me realize that instigating religious discussions with people in a work environment, or celebrating your own personal religious convictions at the expense of others, is inappropriate and detrimental to a unified workforce.

Today, it is my belief that religion is a personal matter. And while it is okay for people to willingly engage one another concerning their differences of religious faiths, beliefs and practices, it should not be the case that individuals feel pressure by co-workers, or their organization, to uphold faiths, beliefs, or practices that run counter to each person's own personal conscious.

Yet my own personal experiences while working for the United States Army as a civilian employee have taught me that religion is, in fact, too much a part of both individual practice, as well as organizational practice. As I became less religious, I would still have co-workers ask me if I attended church. And if I told them that I no longer went to church, I would often arrive at my desk to find books in my chair meant to provide me spiritual guidance. To me, this is inappropriate. It's inappropriate whether it's a Muslim leaving a Qur'an in my chair, or an atheist leaving me a book telling me the reasons I shouldn't believe in God; and it is also wrong when, as it has in every case concerning me, an evangelical, fundamentalist Christian leaves me a book of prayer, or a book on the resurrection of Jesus in hopes that I will follow God as they believe I should. Just as it is wrong when I walk down the halls of my office to see people posting internet articles outside their doors on the reasons why we know the second coming of Jesus is at hand, and what the tribulation will be like for those who are not raptured. Or when co-workers feel compelled to send me unsolicited emails about the "godless" people who feel it is wrong to attempt to remove "Under God" from the pledge of allegiance.

Surely I have co-workers who are not just evangelical, fundamentalist Christians, but are also Catholic, Jewish, Muslim, and even agnostic or atheist. Yet whenever we have Thanksgiving or Christmas luncheons, the food is always blessed with, not just a prayer, but a prayer in Jesus' name. In fact, this has become so common at the luncheons and parties sponsored by both my parent organization, as well as the organization where I have been assigned, that I have quit attending them altogether. This, of course, always raises the question as to why I don't attend the Thanksgiving or Christmas luncheons/parties. Of course it's not because I'm anti-social, since I'm very outgoing, funny, and well liked by every person I work with. I'm viewed as a great, hard-working employee. However, when it comes to Thanksgiving and Christmas luncheons/parties, I tend to find ways to avoid them. The excuse I always use is, "the tickets cost too much." And while that is partly true, the main reason is because I find it highly inappropriate to bless the food with a prayer, especially when the prayer *always* ends with, "In Jesus' name, amen," and for the parties to be exclusively Christian centered when it comes to songs and celebration.

Such prayers and activities may be enjoyed by the Christians who attend, but they can be highly offensive and exclusive of other employees, who should not feel like they are at a Christian worship service. Such gatherings are not representative of the employees who are Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Jewish, agnostic, or atheist. They are not representative of each and every American citizen who took the very same oath to uphold and protect the United States Constitution. In fact, each and every time a prayer is uttered at a government sponsored event, the Constitution is being violated, not upheld. And the individual rights of each and every American who swore to uphold and protect the Constitution as a federal employee are being violated.

I will not be attending the two Christmas parties this year being sponsored by the two government organizations that I work for, just as I have not attended them for the past 4 or 5 years. Not only because each party costs between $20-22 per ticket, but also because of past experiences I've had while attending these organizational Christmas parties. For one, past experience tells me that more prayer will be taking place at these parties than if I decided to go to church on a Sunday. And secondly, despite the fact that I don't attend church on Sundays, or any other day---unless I'm there to play basketball---one of these Christmas parties will be taking place in a church; a United Methodist Church to be exact. So, should I choose to go to this particular Christmas party, not only would I have to hear prayers in the name of Jesus, I would have to hear them in a house of worship dedicated to Jesus. No offense to Jesus or his followers, but I don't go to church to pray in Jesus' name during my free time, when going to church is free of charge, much less am I going to pay $22 to go to church for a Christmas party being sponsored by the federal organization I work for to hear those very same prayers that I could hear for free on Sundays.

While not many people speak out against such federally organized holiday parties, I know for a fact that I am not the only person who is employed by the military, whether soldier or civilian, who feels the way that I do. I have co-workers who have expressed concern over such organizational parties, and I know of people who work for the government in other locations who have also expressed similar experiences.

I'm certainly not opposed to such activities, since I often enjoy the organizational picnics and outings that are put together, which I generally attend. The difference is that these events aren't as filled with religious expression, though there generally is a blessing of the food in Jesus' name. And while I would like to attend this year's Christmas party, along with my wife and two kids, since we too celebrate Christmas, I again will have to skip it and come up with a good excuse for why I am doing so, since the truth often has harsh repercussions in a world dominated by zealous Christians who can't imagine anyone not celebrating Christmas without it being all about Jesus. And while many others who may be opposed to the overwhelming Christian nature these parties often take, yet attend anyway, I will be sitting it out for them as well.

It would be nice if, along with annual security awareness trainings, sexual harrassment trainings, ethics trainings, substance abuse trainings, suicide prevention trainings, etc., we could have a religious tolerance training as well. While the government spends a lot of time and effort making us all conscious of security, ethics, sexual harrassment, and substance abuse, it does very little to make sure its workforce is tolerant of religious freedom, which includes being free of religious practices and beliefs being forced upon us, especially when it is discriminatory and prevents all federal employees from enjoying government sponsored events.

Hopefully, one day I can return to celebrating the holidays with my fellow co-workers at our annual Thanksgiving and Christmas parties. But I won't be doing that until the parties are religiously neutral, so that military and civilian employees of all faiths and non-faiths feel welcomed. Thank you MRFF for being the ONLY safe "Welcome Wagon" we have for those of us who wish to try to fight this evangelical, fundamentalist Christian bigotry in the U.S. military.


Respectfully,

(name, grade and military unit withheld)