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Evangelicals are fighting for beach heads, and have won one. Beware. |
So God has infiltrated the United States Air Force with the help of Evangelical Commandos. Under pressure from evangelical Christians, the Air Force backed down from their rule that superiors could not discuss their faith with subordinates. That is a scary thought and an indication that religion is becoming dangerously embedded into our government. Can you imagine some lieutenant offering a prayer at divisional quarters each morning? It sounds harmless, even good, on the surface. I mean, prayer’s good, isn’t it? Why should anyone mind having a prayer? So it’s forced on you by your superior officer who happens to hold strong religious convictions vastly different from yours. He’ll be fair, won’t he? He won’t hold your personal religious beliefs against you, will he? He won’t ask you to acknowledge the “truth” of his beliefs, will he? Imagine that same lieutenant getting frustrated when one of his men, a devout Jew, or an Atheist does not respond with the gratitude and thanks the lieutenant may be expecting for having helped save the poor heathen’s soul. Sure, that’s a bit extreme, but, then again, and again, evangelicals tend to be on the extreme side when it comes to their religion. What does this frustration lead to? Perhaps nothing, but more than likely it will lead to extra duties, lower evaluations, lack of trust during missions, and a spiritual harassment that does not belong on any job, but it particularly does not belong in a governmental job that is paid for by people of all faiths, and by people of no faith at all. It is as if we are moving backward. What’s next, depicting certain groups of people as worthy of God’s love and others not? Religion is sneaking back into our government and that is dangerous. Even the most religious among us must be concerned, for if it is not your exact beliefs that happen to be the belief of your superior, you may be in trouble; you may miss that next promotion, and you may well find yourself at the displeasure of your superior officer. Religion is a strong influence in our society. A majority of us, studies show, have some sort of religious belief. We need and often use faith to get through difficult situations, and “heaven knows,” military people face difficult situations more often than the average Joe or average Josephine in civilian life. The crux of the matter is that a specific religion will be held above all others at the whim of commanding officers. That is wrong. That is un-Constitutional. |