Military Disservice: Fundamentalists On The March In America’s Armed Forces
Why are fundamentalist religious services – which are clearly designed to convert a vulnerable population to a specific type of Christianity – being held on military bases?
Aggressive fundamentalist Christian organizations are continuing their efforts to expand their presence in the U.S. military.
Last month, researcher Jeff Sharlet penned a disturbing article for Harper’s magazine about efforts to “Christianize” the military. Newsweek ran a similar story online on June 20. The articles attracted a lot of attention and put the issue in the spotlight once again.
Part of the fallout is an interesting video, produced by Truthdig.com, featuring Sharlet and other commentators speaking out about the recent developments. Watching it, I was struck by one thing: Too many military personnel refuse to admit there is a problem.
Consider the Air Force chaplain interviewed in the piece. He’s not at all concerned. Yet he should be. The video features footage shot at Fort Jackson in Columbia, S.C., that lays bare exactly what the problem is: Young recruits are being funneled into fundamentalist Christian ministries, intentionally or not, by military policies.
The video shows footage of a Christian rock concert held at Fort Hood. No one was required to attend, but one soldier helpfully explains what the other option was: staying behind and cleaning the barracks. (Some choice, huh?)
Once at the concert, the new recruits – young men and women away from home, perhaps in an uncertain position, perhaps nervous and scared – are bombarded with fundamentalist Christianity and urged to get saved. The atmosphere of the event is highly charged, emotional. Many break down.
I understand that the military has to make accommodations for the religious needs of soldiers. That’s a far cry from urging them to adopt new or different beliefs. Why on earth are services like this – which are clearly designed to convert a vulnerable population to a specific type of Christianity – being held on military bases?
In another part of the video, former National Security Advisor Brent Scowcroft refuses to believe that two evangelists are traveling with an Army unit in Afghanistan – despite footage that aired on a Chrisitian network bragging about it.
The footage shows plainly what it going on: Private citizens have been “embedded” with a military unit and are distributing Bibles (written in the native language) to the population – despite a military order that prohibits this type of proselytism.
How did these evangelists get hooked up with this unit? Obviously, something like this doesn’t just happen. It’s part of a plan. Who in the military signed off on this, and why hasn’t it been stopped?
But wait, there’s more. Chris Rodda, a researcher with the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF), recently reported that the Department of Defense has permitted a retired Army colonel and chaplain named Jim Ammerman to endorse chaplains on behalf of the Chaplaincy of Full Gospel Churches (CFGC), even though Ammerman has a history of attacking other religions and making extreme statements.
The CFGC’s newsletter in September of 2008 went so far as to imply that four Democratic U.S. senators who voted to oppose making English the official U.S. language were should be put on trial and hanged.
The MRFF has demanded that the Department of Defense revoke the CFGC’s authority to endorse chaplains. It’s a necessary step, but I’m not holding my breath. My guess is that top military brass will continue to insist that everything is just peachy keen.
Could things get any worse? Well, yes.
President Barack Obama has nominated U.S. Rep. John McHugh (R-N.Y.) to be Secretary of the Army. McHugh, a five-term member of the House, seems to have little respect for the separation of church and state. During his time in the House, McHugh has repeatedly cosponsored school prayer amendments and even voted for a measure that would have stripped the federal courts of their ability to hear cases challenging the insertion of “under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance.
When efforts were launched in Congress to crack down on aggressive proselytism by military chaplains, McHugh was on the wrong side, voting with the Religious Right.
Every time Americans United or other organizations raise this issue, Religious Right groups accuse us of overreacting. In fact, this spate of recent incidents proves again that the problem of heavy-handed fundamentalist influence in the military is real.
As numerous commentators have pointed out, fundamentalist control of the military cuts against American interests. The last thing we want to do is create the impression that our “Christian army” is ready to square off against the Muslim world in a new crusade.
The situation is crying out for reform. But nothing will be done as long as top military and civilian leaders continue to stick their heads in the sand.