AirForce Academy

Dear Mr. Weinstein:

As a Christian I find your statement to be extremely offensive. Mr. Graham works tirelessly to help those in need. The constitution calls for freedom of religion, not freedom from religion. This is a fundamental difference. While you have every right to state your opinion, you should not have the right to stop others from expressing their beliefs. You are the type of ultra liberal do gooder that is tearing this country apart. Please just leave this country and go somewhere that meets your needs. This country was founded on religious freedom. The framers were fundamentalist Christians and read their bibles daily. I suspect that if you had your way, a Christian at the Air Force Academy would not be allowed to have a bible in his own room or the freedom to study it.

If it wasn’t for people of faith, there would not be groups that try to help innocent children. Study’s show that people of faith give more to charitable causes than do those with no faith such as yourself. You should be spending your time helping others instead of trying to stop religious freedom.

(name withheld)

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Hi (name withheld)

Thank you for contacting the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF).

You are correct on freedom of religion but you are wrong on freedom from religion. No one has the right to jam their religious beliefs down another.

The first amendment in the Constitution states;
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion (establishment clause), or prohibiting the free exercise thereof (free exercise clause).”

The establishment clause stops the government from establishing one religion over another.

The free exercise clause gives people the freedom to believe in any religion they want or no religion at all.

As a Christian I am astonished and saddened at the emails we get from other Christians telling us to leave our country because we do not fit in to their perceived description of America. Yours is not the first and it will not be the last. “We the people” does not mean “We the Christians.”

I am responding to the story from the Gazette on Samaritan’s Purse below.

First and foremost, we are not anti-Christian. In fact, there are many mainline Christians that volunteer with MRFF. I am one of them and I am an ordained minister in the Assemblies of God. Also, the California Council of Churches IMPACT with 5,500 churches supports us besides many individual churches, ministers and lay people. We are the most ardent supporter of the Constitution and the separation of church and state under the articles within it.

As a Christian I have filled and given many shoeboxes to Samaritans Purse. It filled my heart with joy knowing that some child was getting things he/she needed.

We at MRFF have absolutely no problem with the Chaplains instituting a call for “Samaritan’s Purse” within the confines of their church affiliation parishioner soldiers. What we do have a problem with is the Commander and other high ranking military endorsing an email to ALL soldiers – regardless of their religious beliefs or non-belief – for Christmas gifts under the guise of “Operation Christmas Child” which is deceptive in its true purpose.

The Commander is responsible for ensuring that soldiers and their families have the opportunity for the free exercise of religion.

The Chaplain is a special staff officer to the Commander and soldiers who want to attend church and receive religious support. It is the Chaplains job to alert his/her parishioners on any church activity.

There is a difference. The Commander’s job is to make sure his soldiers are free to exercise any religion they want or lack thereof. A Chaplains job is to be the religious guide for those seeking it.

The Gazette –

“The academy, which initially stood by its promotion of the charity, changed its tune Thursday evening, with an email to cadets that retracted an earlier missive asking for help with the program. The academy’s commandant of cadets Brig. Gen. Richard Clark called Weinstein Thursday with an apology.
“We agree that it was inappropriate,” said Lt. Col John Bryan, an academy spokesman.
The project has been handed over to the academy’s chaplains, who can legally take part and recruit support for religious endeavors.”
Brig. Gen. Richard Clark even admitted that it was inappropriate (illegal) and the academy’s Chaplains are now in charge, as they should be.

“Commanders have put “religious respect” training in place. In September, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz issued a memo to commanders that told them to avoid mixing religion with their military roles.
They must refrain from appearing to officially endorse religion generally or any particular religion,” Schwartz wrote.”
General Schwartz even issued a memo that supports our position.
We are not trying to take Christianity out of our military. If MRFF was attempting to do that I wouldn’t be volunteering for them. We are just trying to put religion back where it belongs – in the hands of the Chaplains.
I hope this clarifies what seems to be perceived as an attack on Christianity. We are more than grateful that those in charge at the USAFA have seen the illegality of their original position.
My God bless your socks off!
Pastor Joan