|
Army Faces Backlash for Scheduling Sunday, April 5, 2009 By Jason Leopold The U.S. Army’s Chief of Chaplains was harshly criticized for being insensitive to other faiths by issuing a proclamation that calls on Army personnel and their families to participate in a "Day of Prayer and Fasting" on Wednesday, the first night of Passover, one of the highest holy days in the Jewish Calendar marked by a traditional feast called a Seder. Maj. Gen. Douglas L. Carver, the Army's Chief of Chaplains, indicated that he did not consult a calendar before deciding to schedule April 8 as the "Day of Prayer and Fasting." He did say, however, that the date is linked to his Southern Baptist roots, even though his proclamation purports to be representative of all faiths. In a March 31 interview with Baptist Press, Carver said, "April 8 is a Wednesday and prayer meeting night for Southern Baptists, so we really encourage not only Baptists but all local churches to pray for the military." "One of the greatest things Southern Baptists can do is pray for our soldiers and their families," Carver said. "We've asked our soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines and Coast Guardsmen to protect and defend our great land. They're encouraged when they know our local churches are praying for them." Carver’s proclamation has already angered dozens of Jewish members of the Army who have lodged complaints with the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF), a watchdog group that seeks to force the military to adhere to religious neutrality guidelines. One Jewish member of the Army who received Carver's proclamation said it is “an insult to all Jews.” “Asking Jewish members of the armed forces to fast on that day displays unconscionable arrogance by the Army Chief of Chaplains,” said this person, who requested anonymity for fear of retribution. Neither Carver nor a Pentagon spokesman returned calls for comment. The proclamation is just the latest example of the “pernicious and pervasive pattern and practice of constitutionally impermissible promotions of religion by the military,” said MRFF founder and president, Mikey Weinstein. Weinstein, the author of the book, With God On Our Side: One Man's War Against an Evangelical Coup in America's Military, fired off an e-mail March 31 to Army Secretary Pete Geren and Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey. “Sir, would you please expeditiously address the following very serious matter of pervasive, unconstitutional activity by a senior member of your staff? The Military Religious Freedom Foundation has received numerous complaints from active duty Army personnel from many diverse religious faiths, including those members who self identify as Christians (both Protestant and Catholic) as well as those who profess no particular faith at all, regarding the direct and indirect assault on their constitutionally protected civil rights by this ... "Proclamation" from Chaplain (Major General) Carver; Army Chief of Chaplains,” Weinstein wrote. Geren, a former special assistant to then Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, was acting Secretary of the Air Force. He was appointed to that position in July 2005, a month after a report was issued by the service that concluded some cadets felt "a perception of religious intolerance" existed at the academy. Geren also appeared, along with other high ranking Pentagon officials, in a promotional video praising the fundamentalist organization Christian Embassy. The Christian Embassy "has been a rock that I can rely on, been an organization that helped me in my walk with Christ, and I'm just thankful for the service they give," Geren says. In July 2007, the Pentagon’s inspector general issued a 45-page report concluding that Air Force Maj. Gen. Jack Catton, Army Brig. Gen. Bob Caslen, Brig. Gen. Vincent Brooks, Maj. Gen. Peter Sutton, and a colonel and lieutenant colonel whose names were redacted were found to have "improperly endorsed and participated with a non-Federal entity while in uniform." The inspector general’s report said Geren did not act improperly. Geren told the Pentagon watchdog that he was unaware Christian Embassy was shooting a promotional video. But the report said Geren “first became involved with Christian Embassy while he was a member of the US Congress, attending Bible study and fellowship activities arranged by Christian Embassy on Capitol Hill. [Geren] said that he continued his relationship with Christian Embassy when he began work for DOD in the Pentagon, attending the Senior Executive Fellowship and Bible Study." At least one unnamed senior military official said he did not believe his appearance in the video was improper because "Christian Embassy had become a 'quasi-Federal entity,' since the DOD had endorsed the organization to General Officers for over 25 years." But Weinstein, a graduate of the United States Air Force Academy, a former White House attorney under Ronald Reagan and an Air Force Judge Advocate (JAG), said Huntoon’s response fell short. “General... MRFF is raising extremely serious allegations about the Constitutionality and legality of this Chief of Chaplains'... "Proclamation of Prayer and Fasting" and most certainly NOT about the "propriety of the proclamation", as you have erroneously referred to it below,” Weinstein’s e-mail said. “Sir, this is NOT a question of seemingly benign "propriety." By "renaming" the issue at hand from the very outset, it seems quite transparent that the Army is attempting to delegitimize, indeed trivialize, MRFF's valid Constitutional concerns.” Having already alienated Jews, Carver has also isolated members of the Army who are non-believers. In fact, MRFF is a co-plaintiff in a lawsuit filed against the Defense Department in which the Army allegedly subjected soldiers to fundamentalist Christian prayer ceremonies against their will during mandatory military events. Army Spc. Dustin Chalker is the other co-plaintiff in the lawsuit. According to the complaint, on at least three occasions beginning in December 2007, Chalker claimed he was directed to attend military events, one of which was a barbecue, where an Army battalion chaplain led a Christian prayer ceremony for military personnel. Chalker, who said he is an atheist, asked his superiors for permission to leave the prayer sessions and on each occasion his request to be excused was denied. Despite Chalker’s objections to being subjected to fundamentalist Christian prayer sessions, his Army superiors continuously forced him to attend other military events where the prayer ceremonies continued. Furthermore, Carver overstepped his authority by issuing the proclamation, attorneys for MRFF have charged. “The position of Army Chief of Chaplains is an entitlement of institutional and bureaucratic government leadership not ecclesial authority,” MRFF’s lawyers said. “The Army Chief of Chaplains does not lead a church nor can he define or dictate ecclesial pronouncements to the spiritually inclined within the military community. “While individual chaplains may respond to the needs of a specific ecclesial expression or community within a particular military environment, the Chief of Chaplains has no overarching authority to create ecclesial observances such as ‘A Day of Prayer and Fasting.’”’ “We clearly conclude that it is violative of the No Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to, and Clause 3, Article 6 of, The United States Constitution for the Army Chief of Chaplains to unilaterally dictate a specific ecclesial response ("A Day of Prayer and Fasting") or to designate a specific day for the observation of sectarian practices outside a particular spiritual tradition,” MRFF’s legal team said. Carver told Baptist Press that Army officials turned to the chaplaincy to help mitigate the number of suicides, which has reached epidemic proportions. One way in which Army chaplains have proposed tackling the suicide epidemic is by promoting Christianity or "religiosity." The 2008 U.S. Army’s suicide prevention manual says “Chaplains... need to openly advocate behavioral health as a resource” to treat suicidal soldiers and instructs behavioral health providers “to openly advocate spirituality and religiosity as resiliency factors." The inclusion of Christianity and spirituality is a new addition to the Army’s 2008 suicide prevention manual. A PowerPoint slide included in the Army's "Suicide Awareness for Soldiers 2008" says: "Spirituality looks outside of oneself for meaning and provides resiliency for failures in life experiences. Religiosity adds the dimension of a supportive community to help one deal with crises. Both embed themselves in a relationship with God, or a higher power, that provides an everlasting relationship. Bottom line, Soldiers should not base their reason for living in another human being!” SUPPORT MRFF You can support MRFF by Please click below to choose how |
