Where Are You Going?

To Mikey Weinstein,

I would like to ask you a simple question: where are you going with your “religious freedom” quest? From what I have read and seen I am not seeing religious freedom as much as I see freedom from religion. I don’t need religion as much as I need God to be in my life. Why are you seeking to remove the ability of any troop or troops to seek their God in the way that they want? You seem to be intent on removing God from any military member’s life. At the same time you are removing their first amendment right of free speech while we have to listen to your idea of free speech. You seem to want Godless troops protecting a country, my country, that has been established upon His Word by our founding fathers. Where are you going? And why do you want to go there and lead others there by your intentions which are not God’s will?

(name withheld)

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Good Day, (name withheld) –

Mikey Weinstein has received and read your email, and he’s asked me to provide a response. I am a Christian, USAFA graduate (’85), and AF veteran.

You’ve asked a simple question, so I’ll respond with a simple answer and then expand upon it.

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Question – “Where are you going with your ‘religious freedom’ quest?’

Answer – MRFFs goal is to ensure that all members of the US military fully receive the Constitutional guarantees of religious freedom to which they are entitled.

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With respect, if what you’ve “read and seen” about MRFF suggests that we seek to remove religion from the military, then your sources are biased at best. That is no reflection on you — when I first heard of MRFF, I thought the same thing. So my first approach to the organization was from a fairly critical angle. I thought (wrongly, it turns out) that MRFF was opposed to people of faith like myself. I’ve since learned this is not the case.

MRFF is not anti-religion — we are pro-Constitution. Our sole focus is to assist military members who contact us with concerns about their own religious liberty. As you well know from your own military career, the hierarchical nature of the military is such that the words and actions of leaders carry significant weight. And of course, that also means that subordinates cannot necessarily ignore or deflect a leader who is intent on sharing something with them. So when a military member finds himself in a situation where he faces unwelcome or inappropriate proselytizing, he sometimes needs an advocate to speak on his behalf — that is the role of MRFF.

If you’ve spent any time on the MRFF website, you may have seen the mission statement that spells out the goals of MRFF. If you’ve not seen that information yet, I encourage you to check it out. From that list, one particular item describes where we spend the majority of our time —

” No member of the military may be compelled to endure unwanted religious proselytization, evangelization or persuasion of any sort in a military setting and/or by a military superior or civilian employee of the military.”

This is an important item to consider, because it points to the difference between (a.) religious belief/practice, and (b.) religious expression. We believe that every military member, at every level, has a Constitutional right to his own religious belief and practice. But due to the superior/subordinate hierarchy, we believe that every leader/superior also has an obligation to consider the time, place and manner of expressing a personal religious belief, and must take care to ensure that such an expression is not presented in way that uses their position or color of authority.

Toward the end of your note, you make reference to a belief that America was founded upon Christianity. While this is a commonly held misconception among Christians, I’d point out that our Constitution is not a Christian document, and the liberties and freedoms that it offers extend equally to all Americans of all beliefs (including non-belief). America is a very diverse country in many ways, including religion. Our soldiers, sailors and airmen reflect that diversity and are entitled to live and work in an environment where their religious convictions are respected. Equally importantly, military members should be confident that their personal religious beliefs will not adversely impact their perceived value (and future) within the organization or in the eyes of their leaders.

Thanks again for writing.

Peace

Mike Challman

Christian, AF Veteran, MRFF Supporter

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Thank you for your response Mike on behalf of Mikey. You are right in that I had not reviewed much of your websites information. Some time ago I watched an interview with someone from Fox News and Mikey. I cannot recall all of what was being discussed but I do remember that I was unimpressed with Mikey’s replies to the questions and held that “first impression” of negativity when I wrote my email yesterday. I was incorrect in some of my comments that leaned toward taking away religious freedom. I have since read background on the cases that your organization has brought in response to complaints by military members. That information brought back tidbits of the Fox News interview with Mikey. You can probably tell that I am a Christian from my not so accurate comments in my initial email. I do not remember being forced to endure any training program that included scripture from the Bible. I do remember being held in the face of diversity but only with the attention diffuse the tension between blacks and whites; yes, I am that old. I believe that our Constitution gives us certain freedoms but tell me exactly where it states that there will be separation of church and state. That has been a liberal interpretation of the Constitution limiting government from promoting a specific religion for American citizens: a state religion for all of us. You know as well as I do that that part of the Constitution has been beat to death by so many people who want to remove any mention of God from government at all levels.

I am working in the opposite direction and want God and His influence back into our land, schools and government. I am a fairly new evangelical Christian, non-denominational. Brought up as a Catholic I had never even opened a Bible, now I live with the Word. I don’t force my beliefs on anyone unless they ask about the awesome church that I attend and has brought me to a personal relationship with God but not with a ritualistic religion. Some of my last positions in my Air Force career had me (and I am not saying this with pride) relieve AF chaplains from their jobs for unmentionable character traits. So I suppose that I had been supporting the MRFF in some ways. Again, I thank you for your response and for getting me to read more background about MRFF and its real quests. Good luck with your endeavors.

(name withheld)

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