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It looks like the Christian "Right" is at it again. Recent news stories have surfaced that some staff members at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs have been aggressively promoting evangelical Christianity, and that cadets who are either of different faiths or follow no religion have been victims of religious bias. Attorneys with Americans United For The Separation of Church and State have been carefully investigating these complaints, and last week, released a detailed report backing them up. A copy of this report was sent to Donald Rumsfeld and other military personnel.

"The right to worship or not worship as the individual sees fit is a cornerstone of American life," said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, Executive Director of Americans United. "All branches of our military must respect, not denigrate, this vital principle."

Incidents detailed in the report include the following: 1. Complaints that an Academy chaplain exhorted cadets to bring non-Christian cadets to evangelical services. 2. Proselytizing in classrooms and in one case, ordering cadets to pray before taking a test. 3. Harassment of non-Christian junior cadets. 4. Denying the right of cadets to attend meetings of non-believers, although evangelical cadets were regularly given passes for religious meetings.

In a cover letter to Rumsfeld, Lynn wrote, "A soldier’s religious beliefs, or lack thereof, should be irrelevant to his or her ability and willingness to defend the country. The situation at the Air Force Academy sends exactly the opposite message. The close relationship between the Academy and evangelical Christianity sends a message of exclusion to those of other faiths. It may well dissuade some from considering the military as a career."

As compelling as Lynn’s words are, one has to wonder how much impact it will have on Christian evangelists determined to ignore certain parts of the law. Namely, that government establishment of religion, be it Christianity or any other faith, is strictly prohibited by the Constitution of the United States. Given that President Bush has been a strong supporter of recent "faith-based initiatives" that have also mixed religion with government, I have strong doubts that Rev. Lynn’s letter will make a difference at all. But I honestly hope I’ll be proved wrong in this case.

Naturally, it didn’t take long for Christian evangelist groups like James Dobson’s Focus On The Family to begin singing the "Christian persecution" song. Almost immediately after the accounts of the abuses at the Academy came to light in the media, various members of the Christian Right began making accusations of an "anti-Christian bias" at the school. That sounds rather strange to me, considering that neither Rev. Lynn nor anyone else has suggested that Christianity must be outlawed at the school. No one has said that all religious meetings should be permanently banned for cadets and faculty. Therefore, the question remains; what legitimate grounds do these Christian groups have for making these absurd "anti-Christian" charges? So far, they have provided none.