"When one proudly dons a U.S. Military uniform, there is only one religious symbol: the American flag. There is only one religious scripture: the American Constitution. Finally, there is only one religious faith: American patriotism."
MRFF Founder and President, Michael L. "Mikey" Weinstein
This 112 page Spiritual Guide is a waste of taxpayer money. It targets soldiers for religious propaganda and indoctrination by laying out “four spiritual readiness stages” — external, agency, purpose and empowered.
Although this guide purports to be for anyone of any spiritual background, it does not acknowledge atheistic, agnostic, Buddhist, pagan, Satanic, Wiccan, scientific or humanistic beliefs which are also legitimate spiritual and philosophical outlooks. This book narrowly promotes conventional Western religious beliefs and marginalizes people of other beliefs or no beliefs.
As an Army veteran, I think our troops need to be combat ready, not spiritually ready. Military commanders do not need an “operational lens to view spiritual readiness with trainable, measurable and realistic blocks for the spiritual domain.” Soldiers do not need to be trained with spiritual blocks of instruction and have the Army set spiritual goals for them which are assessed and documented by commanders. The US government and the Department of Defense have no business promoting the idea of a “spiritual domain.” The Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution prohibits the official recognition of any religion or religious principles.
The whole time I was in the Army I was coerced into participating in Evangelical Christian worship services and other activities. If we were in the field, we were told that attending our Baptist chaplain’s Sunday service tent was our “place of duty.”
SGM Dustin Hall states, “Every leader, they don’t have to be a chaplain or religious affairs specialist, [can] sit down with a soldier and ask, ‘How are you getting after the spiritual domain?”
I don’t know of any soldier who wants their squad leader making spiritual inquiries. They don’t ask about your sex life. They shouldn’t ask about your spiritual life. This is extremely invasive, coercive and highly inappropriate. These people have no sense of personal boundaries or respect. No soldier needs the Army to tell them about spiritual “purpose and meaning in life.”
I know how this works. Any soldier who is resistant to this program is going to be pressured. This is not a voluntary program.
I think this nonsense actually detracts from military readiness. They should focus on a physical and mental health, and training in common tasks like marksmanship. Every second wasted on these spiritual inquiries takes away time which could be spent on essential military tasks.
The Army’s medical programs (physical and mental health) are scientifically-based. There is no science associated with spirituality which can be taught, quantified, defined or measured. There is no scientific basis for a “spiritual domain.” People can believe whatever they want, but the Army should not be recognizing a “spiritual domain.”
This new Army book is propaganda. I support a soldier’s religious freedom and their right to initiate contact with a chaplain or other spiritual advisor. I also support freedom from religion.
I have been a member of the Episcopal Church all my life. We do not seek converts. I express my religious beliefs by doing volunteer work with immigrants, people who are homeless and hungry, and with LGBTQIA+ teens, minorities, and other marginalized people. I am not opposed to religious freedom. In the Army, I regularly heard derogatory comments about my church from Evangelical Christians the entire time I was in the Army. I was told I went to a “fag church” because my church is more progressive in terms of human sexuality.
Three of my family members were Jews who were killed in the Holocaust. My nephew is a Buddhist. I have a religiously and philosophically diverse family. My grandfather was a Dutch pastor who was sent to Dachau for publicly defending Jews and condemning the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands. My philosophy of life is love and respect for neighbor, empathy, tolerance, celebrating diversity and helping other people. There are atheists who share these values with me. When I was at Ft. Campbell, I made certain that my Wiccan friends were given an allotted pace for their religious practices. I was amazed at how Wiccans were persecuted in the Army. One Wiccan soldier was sent to the mental health clinic based on his religious beliefs. By the way, if a Satanist wants to have a Black Mass in a government chapel, this should be permitted.
The Army Core Values are Loyalty, Duty, Respect Selfless Service, Honor Integrity and Personal Courage (LDRSHIP – LEADERSHIP). Under Donald Trump and Pete Hegseth, we no longer have these values. This spirituality program is a rejection of Army values.
I have tried to learn about other religious traditions and philosophies. My best friend is an atheist. I don’t claim to be a member of the one true religion. Evangelical Christians do believe they are the one true religion. This latest Army project and these two publications have Evangelical Christian written all over them.
We live in a Christian Nationalist nation and are losing our civil liberties. This Army spirituality crap is the latest assault on the freedom of out military personnel. I am an open-minded person. I read the Spiritual Fitness Guide and the Battle Book. These texts and the accompanying policies are unconstitutional.
Please contact me and let me know you received and read my email. I am going to get on the Military Religious Freedom website and make a donation and sign up for emails.
Best regards and “thoughts and prayers” (a little sarcasm),
(name withheld)
P.S. I don’t know if your foundation is interested in veterans issues. The Veterans Administration has a new Anti-Christian Bias Task Force which targets non-Christians. There is no anti-Christian bias at the VA. This is favoritism for one religion. Trump says there is antisemtism. Why isn’t there an antisemitism task force?
And VA clinicians can discriminate based on religion, sexual orientation and political affiliation. I have a Primary Care physician who insists on praying with me every time I have a medical appointment.
Response from MRFF Founder and President Mikey Weinstein
On Aug 2, 2025 at 23:15 -0400, Mikey Weinstein , wrote:
Thank you, Mark… We are all too well aware of the army releasing this latest piece of crap literature… We also have a long history of fighting against the VA… Please do spend some time on our website… Very grateful that you reached out… Thank you again for this very substantive And excellent email you sent us this evening…
Mikey Weinstein… Founder and President Military Religious Freedom Foundation…
Subject: Re: Army releases Spirituality Fitness Guide
Date: August 2, 2025 at 10:56:18 PM MDT
To: Mikey Weinstein
Mikey,
You are a First Amendment hero. Thanks for taking me seriously and responding. I made a donation to the Military Religious Freedom Foundation tonight and spent an hour on the website.
I have a degree in theology. In the 1970s, German theologianDorothee Sölle coined the term “christofascist” to described right-wing
religious fanatics in the Third Reich. A lot of German Catholics and Protestants supported Adolph Hitler. Those who didn’t were imprisoned or killed.
With moral conviction I assert that Donald Trump is a Nazi and so are the christofascist Evangelicals who enable him.
The Army really called it “spiritual fitness” and thought we wouldn’t notice. We’ve gone from operational readiness to chakra alignment in one publication cycle. If you’re wondering what happens when a resilience memo goes through a séance, check out https://phantombullshit.com.
The Army really called it “spiritual fitness” and thought we wouldn’t notice. We’ve gone from operational readiness to chakra alignment in one publication cycle. If you’re wondering what happens when a resilience memo goes through a séance, check out https://phantombullshit.com.