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You are at: Home >> News >> 092906-military.htm

Rep. Israel Responds to Religious Guidelines
in National Defense Authorization Bill

“We succeeded in having offensive language stricken but we have some new concerns.”

9/29/06 Washington, DC—Congressman Steve Israel (D-NY), Member of the House Armed Services Committee and Chairman of the Democratic Caucus Task Force on Defense and the Military, responded to provisions in the National Defense Authorization bill dealing with religious tolerance in the military and the role of military chaplains. The final version of the bill removed House language opposed by Israel that would allow military chaplains to offer denominational prayers at nondenominational military events but also nullified guidelines developed by the Air Force and the Navy on religious tolerance and sensitivity. The bill, which will be voted on before the House adjourns and is expected to be passed, has been stalled in a House-Senate conference for several weeks due to these and other provisions.

“We succeeded in having offensive language stricken but we have some new concerns. The provisions in today’s bill represent a full step forward and a half step back,” said Israel. “We removed dangerous language undermining religious freedom and military effectiveness, but I am distressed that instead of moving forward with unequivocal religious tolerance in the military, we are reopening old loopholes that permitted some acts of coercion and proselytizing. The battle ahead will be to work with the military on a new set of guidelines that reflect America’s mainstream values and ensure good order and discipline on our military bases. This issue stalled the Defense Authorization for three weeks. Any issue that divisive should be taken out of a House-Senate conference and placed before the American public. That’s why Senator Warner and I have both called for public hearings. We shouldn’t be muzzling the debate on religious freedom and tolerance in the military.”

Israel said to his opponents: “For those of you who believe in the right of the military chaplain who told cadets willing to die for their country that they would burn in the eternal flames of hell unless they abandoned their religious beliefs, we have a profound and irreconcilable difference. But if you really believe that military chaplains have the right to force their faith on others, let’s at least not decide this issue in three weeks of a House and Senate conference. Let’s put it before the American people with public hearings.”

The issue at hand is the military’s response to a series of reports of evangelical Christians harassing cadets who did not share their faith at the Air Force Academy. In response, the Air Force released draft guidelines in August 2005 that discouraged sectarian prayer at official functions and urged commanders to be “sensitive” about personal expressions of religious faith when interacting with their subordinates. The draft guidelines received such severe backlash from evangelical groups and members of Congress, however, that they were revised in February 2006 to no longer mandate nonsectarian prayer by chaplains and to allow commanding officers to discuss their faith with subordinates in nonofficial statements. Furthermore, a small coalition of conservative members of Congress inserted a provision into the 2006 House-passed Defense Authorization bill that would overturn existing conditions that military chaplains be considerate of various religious beliefs.

In May 2005, Israel attempted to submit an amendment to that year’s Defense Authorization bill that would require the Air Force to submit to Congress a corrective action plan to guarantee religious freedom and tolerance at the Academy. It was struck down by a party-line vote of the Rules Committee and later roused vocal objections from several of his Republican colleagues on the House Armed Services Committee. In June 2005, Israel introduced legislation to create a commission to look into religious freedom in the military services. Such a commission would be appointed by the President, Republican and Democratic leaders of the Senate and House. It would also include persons from both inside and outside of government and the military, and those who are experts in pastoral care.

The rights of military chaplains has been a contentious issue since a Lutheran Air Force Chaplain blew the whistle on religious insensitivity at the Air Force Academy last year. Reports pointed to a number of troublesome practices at the Air Force Academy, including the disparagement of cadets not attending religious functions as participants in "Heathen Flights." The Commandant at the time sent out a number of emails that included overt religious suggestions; a number of cadets relayed accounts of professors, who, on the first day of class, announced that they were born-again Christians and urged the cadets to adopt the same religious beliefs. Additionally, the football coach hung a banner in the locker room that read “Team Jesus.”

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