____ Contact Taylor Hammons at [email protected]: Twitter: @TDR_thammons
As a Christian, it offends me to hear American soldiers are discriminated against because of their beliefs – or rather, non-beliefs.
These days, instead of wasting money on lifeless punching bags, the military uses its own atheist soldiers to stand upright while their so-called comrades polish their fists on the faces of American citizens, figuratively speaking. I suppose our military thought this would be an economical use of resources.
Perhaps this is why Gen. Norton A. Schwartz, chief of staff of the Air Force, issued an unequivocal mandate ensuring the separation of church and state within the Air Force earlier this month.
This is great progress for our military, but the other branches need to follow suit.
Religion is obviously a sensitive topic in the military: death invades the minds of soldiers, and many seek the Bible for comfort.
Therefore, an atheist could threaten that feeling of comfort.
Many Christians could empathize, but this mentality is destructive to the well-being of our nation — not to mention the welfare of our atheist soldiers.
What I do not understand is the mistreatment.
In 2008, The New York Times reported a case of mistreatment in the Army. Spc. Jeremy Hall organized a gathering for non-religious soldiers like himself.
A few minutes later, Maj. Freddy J. Welborn yelled at Hall and the other attendees for “not holding up the Constitution” and “going against what the founding fathers, who were Christians, wanted for America.”
One would expect a man who leads men into battle to be more intelligent.
The First Amendment clearly grants our citizens the freedom of religion or no religion – ol’ Freddy didn’t even have to read past the first one.
In the end, Hall’s fighting in Iraq was cut short after receiving continuous threats from fellow soldiers.
Hall is not alone when it comes to discriminating against atheists in the military.
According to secular.org, over the past five years there have been at least 20 “separate incidents in which military personnel have been harassed, discriminated against and coercively proselytized.”
This is why separating church and state in the military is so essential.
It would allow citizens the chance to determine for themselves if hating on atheists is right or wrong. Obviously, the military believes it’s right in some demented way – with the exception of the Air Force.
The Air Force is leading the way with Gen. Schwartz’s mandate. An updated Section 2.11 to the Air Force Instruction (AFI) states, “Leaders at all levels must balance constitutional protections for an individual’s free exercise of religion or other personal beliefs and the constitutional prohibition against governmental establishment of religion.”
Frankly, I’m all for the Air Force running this country. I have no doubt its citizens would have more freedom.
But I must give the military some kudos for the progress it has made thus far.
In the early ’90s, Muslims, Buddhists and Hindus were finally allowed to serve alongside Christians and Jews, and just recently homosexuals were allowed to serve openly.
Now it’s time atheists receive the same treatment.
We need to advance past the negative stigma of atheism. We need to see people for who they are, not what they believe. We need to be thoughtful, not hateful.
Taylor Hammons is a 19-year-old mass communication sophomore from Atlanta.
