Pentagon: Religious Proselytizing is Not Permitted

[Cinaet]

The Military Religious Freedom Foundation is calling on the Air Force to enforce a regulation that they believe calls for the court martial of any service member caught proselytizing.

President Mikey Weinstein and others from his organization met privately with Pentagon officials on April 23. He said U.S. troops who proselytize are guilty of sedition and treason and should be punished – by the hundreds if necessary – to stave off what he called a “tidal wave of fundamentalists.”

Yeah, proselytizing could be as destructive as not observing the chain of command. I guess the military has changed a lot since I was a grunt. We never worried about that. As a matter of fact the only thing I ever heard was look to your own God and let the man next to you look to his. I think Weinersteiner's opinion that proselytizing is sedition and treason is pretty far out there on the loony branch. Maybe his perspective doesn't include front line service. There might be a few hard-headed troops who just won't follow command, but your average GI respects what he's commanded to do and does it. Maybe that's changed too since I was in. If it has, then proselytizing is the least of the military's worries.

Ever heard Lt. Colonel Hal Moore's (Mel Gibson) "We Were Soldiers" speech to his troops just before they head over to Vietnam? It's pretty cool and oh so true. A part of it: "We're moving into the valley of the shadow of death, where you will watch the back of the man next to you, as he will watch yours. And you won't care what color he is, or by what name he calls God. They say we're leaving home. We're going to what home was always supposed to be." Nothing should ever stand in the way of that.

 

[Dukester]

I call BS. I served and NEVER felt pressure to attend services. NEVER.

I agree. If he's gonna make a point he should stay in the realm of reality.

 

[Sanford]

Don't know about pressure - but in Basic Training if you went to Chapel on Sunday morning you got out of the barracks cleanup - or whatever other mundane Sunday morning task they came up with - that everyone else was doing. Just like when the unit stopped for a smoke break - if you didn't smoke you were on police call picking up the stray butts from the last bunch who had stopped there.

So yeah, some folks probably chose to go to Chapel that otherwise wouldn't have, and some folks probably started smoking that otherwise wouldn't have - but I don't see either of those as being pressured.

 

[RickN]

True that. My old lady keeps her views to herself, I do the same. I enjoy religion, even a weekly church goer myself. the message of being the best person you can is something every human should hear and practice... Some take a religious track, others don't.

Pretty much what I have seen all my life except for the two times that I have run into some religious person trying to push there beliefs on me. One was Jehovah Witness who knocked on my door one morning. They looked past me into my place and saw an open bottle of bourbon, some ladies undies scattered about and my 45 sitting on the table. They left rather quickly.

The other time I had almost forgotten about, but I once had a young lady ask me to go to church with her that coming Sunday morning. I said I would if she would come to my service Friday night, it was special because I was going to sacrifice a virgin. I even had a new bottle of virgin olive oil ready to cook with that night but never saw her again.

 

[Sanford]

They looked past me into my place and saw an open bottle of bourbon, some ladies undies scattered about and my 45 sitting on the table. They left rather quickly.

They also don't stick around long if you tell them you're busy sacrificing a goat.

 

[WTJ]

All of these things appear to me to be people exercising their perceived "civil right" to be offended. Sanford's comment about the smokers is on point. You want to be different in this environment? Go ahead, as long as you pay the "individual" tax. Happens everywhere, all the time, in every social group. It's just the topic that makes it noteworthy. Today it's Christianity v anything else, sexual orientation other than heterosexual, and so on. Last time it was hippies v squares, commies v Americans, and the list is long and distinguished.

The good thing about it? As soon as everyone is special, nobody is.

 

[RickN]

They also don't stick around long if you tell them you're busy sacrificing a goat.

Yep there are so many fun and creative ways to get rid of the pushy types. I rather enjoy them.

 

[n2sooners]

You think that because you haven't seen the deleted posts.

But I think this one has gone quite well. No one has said anything that has offended me badly anyway. And I don't believe I have offended anyone.

One thing I want to point out is that I don't think military officers should be able to order anyone to attend any religious or political event if they don't want other than in an official capacity (such as security). But that has nothing to do with proselytizing.

 

[Glocktogo]

You weren't at MCRD San Diego in 1987, I take it.

Nope! MCRD San Diego 1983!

 

[mons meg]

Nope! MCRD San Diego 1983!

I should point out to the viewers in the audience that we got told to go, but it wasn't for proselytizing. The drill instructors just wanted to not have to look at us for an hour or two.

Edit: GTG is SOOO OLD!