Pray with his troops

In today's WaPo, a story about atheist soldier denied a promotion:

According to the lawsuit, Hall was counseled by his platoon sergeant after being informed that his promotion was blocked. He says the sergeant explained that Hall would be "unable to put aside his personal convictions and pray with his troops" and would have trouble bonding with them if promoted to a leadership position.

I was in the army. For ten years. I can honestly say that not one platoon sergeant offered to pray with me. (And before you say anything, I was still a faithful church goer for part of that time - heck, even on the Altar Guild.)

The lawsuit alleges that [Defense Secretary Robert] Gates permits a military culture in which officers are encouraged to pressure soldiers to adopt and espouse fundamentalist Christian beliefs, and in which activities by Christian organizations are sanctioned.

Hall's attorneys say Fort Riley has permitted a culture promoting Christianity and anti-Islamic sentiment, including posters quoting conservative columnist Ann Coulter and sale of a book, "A Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam," at the post exchange.

This is wrong. True, mind you, but wrong. I recall an officer in Germany instructing the obnoxiously proselytizing Christians on base to cease and desist. People know where the chaplain is, he said. They can get to church on their own. No preaching on the ops floor. Those were the days...

Now an Air Force sergeant I work with tells me of people in his Booster Club taking it for granted that the chaplain will show up and pray, and that the whole concept of atheist airmen takes them by surprise. Unpleasant surprise, sometimes.

I hope this suit forces some reassessment of the whole "warriors of God" mentality. It's part and parcel of the fundamentalist takeover of the government - at the cultural level at least - and it's offensive to anyone who doesn't share their religious sensibilities.

And it's illegal. I realize that doesn't mean much any more, but it should.