August 12, 2014 – MRFF Involvement Instrumental in NEXCOM Decision to End Practice of Placing Religious Materials in Navy Lodge Guest Rooms
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This post was created on the previous version of the MRFF website, and may not be fully accessible to users of assistive technology. If you need help accessing this content, please reach out via email.Lauren Markoe of the Religion News Service reported that the Navy Exchange Service Command (NEXCOM) issued a directive on June 19, 2014 that ends the practice of placing religious materials within guest rooms of the 40 Navy Lodge facilities operated by NEXCOM worldwide. The directive will allow religious materials to continue to be made available on a general basis at Navy Lodge facilities.
While a formal request for this action was made to NEXCOM by another organization supporting church/state separation, MRFF made repeated contacts on behalf of clients who complained about the practice of maintaining religious materials in military facilities. Objections on behalf of MRFF’s clients were made every month for several years leading up to this recent NEXCOM decision based on the clear violations of the U.S. Constitution’s establishment clause and numerous DoD Regulations which specifically prohibit religious preferences.
When asked to comment by Ms. Markoe, MRFF President Mikey Weinstein stated:
“We would be just as angry if there was a Quran or a Torah or Richard Dawkins’ ‘The God Delusion,’” in the bedside tables of these Navy lodges