As the Pentagon doesn’t hostpromote services for the holidays of other religions to the same extent as they do for evangelical Protestantism, this is a clear violation of the separation of church and state.
Edit: Highlighted corrections to the above statement in italics.
The Pentagon hosts a Ramadan dinner (at the end of the holiday, to celebrate the conclusion of the fasting ritual).
The Pentagon has hosted Hanukkah menorah lighting ceremonies. (I’m not sure if they still do.)
The issue here isn’t the sponsoring of a religious activity. The function of the military is to send soldiers to their deaths. Those soldiers who need spiritual support should absolutely have access to it.
The issue is that the president and the defense secretary have incorporated evangelical Christianity into their cronyism. Religion is being used as a litmus test for loyalty.
Made corrections to my comment. Importantly, Pentagon leadership should not be any more involved in the organization and celebration of any religious event more than another.
…anymore? When my mother worked there (admittedly, decades ago), the catholic chaplain conducted mass every Friday morning. (Very quickly. “GodblessAmenGetbacktowork.”) They also had other religion’s services. Nothing mandatory.
As the Pentagon doesn’t
hostpromote services for the holidays of other religions to the same extent as they do for evangelical Protestantism, this is a clear violation of the separation of church and state.Edit: Highlighted corrections to the above statement in italics.
This is false.
The Pentagon hosts a Ramadan dinner (at the end of the holiday, to celebrate the conclusion of the fasting ritual).
The Pentagon has hosted Hanukkah menorah lighting ceremonies. (I’m not sure if they still do.)
The issue here isn’t the sponsoring of a religious activity. The function of the military is to send soldiers to their deaths. Those soldiers who need spiritual support should absolutely have access to it.
The issue is that the president and the defense secretary have incorporated evangelical Christianity into their cronyism. Religion is being used as a litmus test for loyalty.
Signed,
A pragmatic (ex-militant) atheist
Made corrections to my comment. Importantly, Pentagon leadership should not be any more involved in the organization and celebration of any religious event more than another.
…anymore? When my mother worked there (admittedly, decades ago), the catholic chaplain conducted mass every Friday morning. (Very quickly. “GodblessAmenGetbacktowork.”) They also had other religion’s services. Nothing mandatory.