Military Missionaries: Christian Embassy Recruits Converts With Pentagon Help
The former White House lawyer who helped expose religious discrimination at the U.S. Air Force Academy, has again uncovered an effort to push evangelical Christianity in the military.
Michael “Mikey” Weinstein’s Military Religious Freedom Foundation hosted a press conference Monday to air a 10-minute promotional video produced by the Christian Embassy, an evangelical group organized to bring government leaders “into an intentional relationship with Jesus Christ.”
Weinstein charged the six senior Pentagon officials who appear in the video in uniform with violating a host of military regulations and the First Amendment ban on government promotion of religion. The video, which was filmed inside the Pentagon, shows military officials “openly discussing their religious commitment and their strategy to bring religion into the military,” according to Weinstein’s press release.
For example, Major General Jack Catton praises the Christian Embassy for its work, saying it has helped him share his faith with people that come into his directorate.
“I think it’s a huge impact,” Catton continued, “because you have many men and women who are seeking God’s counsel and wisdom as we advise the Chairman and the Secretary of Defense. Hallelujah.”
Lieutenant Colonel Lucious Morton (U.S. Army) says on film, “These Godly men are taking Godly principles that they learned in Christian Embassy Bible studies…. As a result, they gonna go out and they gonna lead men. Their soldiers are going to benefit from that fact that they are military men that are also Godly men.”
Weinstein said “This video contains some of the most blatant and egregious violations of both the Constitution and military regulations I have ever seen. It is truly astonishing that senior military officials have the impudence to appear in their official capacity discussing their desire to proselytize Christianity to fellow military personnel during the duty day and in the offices of the Pentagon itself.”
Weinstein is not only concerned that the officers appeared in uniform, but that the video did not have a disclaimer distancing itself from official government endorsement.
Within hours of the press event, Christian Embassy tacked a disclaimer onto the video’s website.
The new disclaimer notwithstanding, Weinstein is calling on the Department of Defense’s Inspector General to investigate whether military officials were given permission to appear in this religious video in uniform.
This situation is reminiscent of that of Navy Chaplain Lieutenant Gordon Klingenschmitt, who was recently punished for praying in Jesus’ name while in uniform at a Religious Right-sponsored protest outside the White House. Under military guidelines, a uniformed officer speaks for the government and all public appearances in uniform must therefore be cleared through the proper chain of command.
If the investigation finds that the officials in the Christian Embassy film defied military regulations by appearing in uniform, Weinstein will push for immediate courts martial.