Religious Freedom Extends to Soldiers, Too

This week's question from the Washington Post's "On Faith" online section:

The Fort Hood shootings have raised questions again about how the military should handle the personal religious beliefs of its soldiers, whether they are evangelical Christians, Muslims, Wiccans, and so on. What is the proper role of religion -- and personal religious belief -- in the U.S. armed forces? Should a particular religious affiliation disqualify someone from active military service? How far should the military go to accommodate personal religious beliefs and practices?

As long as death and dying are part of the military, there will likely be a need for religious expression among the troops. What form that religious expression takes is a matter of personal choice, and indeed, personal freedom. It's one of the rights afforded all citizens under the US Constitution's Bill of Rights.

If the US military cannot protect the rights of its own soldiers, how can it claim to be protecting mine? Acts of intolerance by any soldier towards another human being, based on differences such as religious beliefs, race, gender, ethnicity, etc., violates the very freedoms that the military is charged with protecting.

The US military has a responsibility to protect the rights and freedoms of all US citizens. Those rights include the freedom to worship, or not, the god of one's own choosing. One would presume this also extends to those actively serving in the military.

The military does address religious needs. It provides chaplains, places to worship, and even religious supplies where needed. When the troops are isolated from public options for worship, a demonstrated effort is made to have worship services for the troops. To that accord, it would seem on the surface that the US military has made great efforts to provide for the religious needs of its troops.

Except for one thing: Protecting the religious freedom of the men and women serving in our armed forces requires more than just hiring military chaplains and providing a tent for soldiers to worship in while deployed. It requires, also, that those who purport to be on the battlefields, risking their lives to protect MY freedom, will, at the very least respect those same freedoms for one another.

It is too early to begin to know "why" the suspect of the Ft. Hood shootings did what he did. Reports coming out now indicate that religion may have played a role in the shootings, but not in the way some would think. Family members told reporters at CNN that the suspect had become increasingly frustrated by disrespect shown to him, which he perceived to be due to his religious beliefs. He was reported "taunted after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001."

In my daughter's school, "taunting" would be called "bullying", and there are consequences for those who do it. Those consequences protect the students. There should be consequences in the military, too.

Confronting the Religious Racism Within

The shooting incident this past week at Ft. Hood, Texas, has reawakened an awareness of what I must call "religious racism" in America. The reaction-- very human reaction-- of many to learning that the suspect is a Muslim, reinforces a fear that has been present since 9-11.

My heart has been so heavy since learning of the shooting incident at Ft. Hood, TX. I am going to conceded that I am still working out how to address the issue of religion, but one thing I knew going into the pulpit this past Sunday was that it must be addressed. In fact, God was almost screaming at me to do so.

So, here are a few thoughts that I included in today's message.

First of all, I have heard and read a number of troubling comments since this happened- comments that have linked all people of the Muslim faith into one big pile of muck. This is not a new development. Ever since 9-11, anyone who looks like they might be a Muslim has been distrusted, maligned and sometimes abused-- because we have decided, I guess, that all terrorists look alike, and that all Muslims are terrorists.

This simply isn't true. It's no more true than the fact that Timothy McVeigh was a terrorist makes all Catholics terrorists.

When we do this-- when we categorize any group of people as if we can know exactly who they are or what they are like based on what others with the same skin color or ethnic background or religious beliefs have done, we tread into dangerous territory.

If this were a valid way of looking at people, I wouldn't trust many of my congregants-- most of whom were born and raised in rural Indiana. That's because I have learned that, following WWI, rural Indiana was a center for a pretty strong segment of the Ku Klux Klan.

If this were a valid way of judging people, then my congregation shouldn't trust ME. Have you ever heard the word, "welch"? It means to cheat someone out of a gambling debt. In Southern Ohio, where my parents were born and raised, the word means to cheat anyone. If you back out of a debt or a deal, you are a "welcher". The word originates from a slang word for someone of Welsh ancestry. I am more than half Welsh. So, even if you trust me, perhaps you shouldn't gamble with me!

And most of us have heard enough of the scandals that rocked the catholic Church to know you can't trust a male pastor, right? Hopefully there is enough trust between us to know this is ridiculous.

There seems to be news coming out that religion did indeed play a role in the shootings, but perhaps not in the way that we would think. CNN is reporting that the suspect had been frustrated for a long time by how others-- both civilians and military personnel had treated him with disrespect, which he perceived as being because he is a Muslim. In mid-August, he found that his car had a religious bumper sticker that said "Allah is love" ripped from it and the car was "keyed"- scratching the paint. Imagine for a moment if a bumper sticker saying "Jesus Loves Me" was ripped from your car and it was keyed.

It's not an excuse to go ballistic, at least not in my mind. But then I don't know what it is like to be constantly watched, mistrusted, ridiculed or abused for being a Christian. I do not condone what this troubled man did. As a pastor, and as a person of faith, I cannot condone racism either.

My faith tells me that God IS love, and that Jesus loves, not just me, but all people. The God who knit me in my mother's womb, also knit those of different faiths and those of no faith whatsoever. Surely Jesus' Great Commandment did not include hating my neighbor, nor will we ever lead someone to know Christ through violence, prejudice or hatred.

I would like to say that I do not have a racist or prejudiced bone in my body... but the truth is I am human. It is within me to fear what is different. It is within me to judge negatively those whose beliefs are not my beliefs. I am challenged every day to face that truth inside myself.
Only then I can stand before God and ask for both forgiveness and the courage to grow in understanding as God would have me do.

Maybe then I can see Christ in the face of my brothers and sisters... including those whom I perceive to be my enemy.

Jesus had something to say about that, too. "You have heard it said to love your neighbor and hate your enemy, but I tell you to love your enemy and pray for those who persecute you... and if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what are you doing that is any more than the others? Do not even pagans do that? be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect." (Matthew 5:43-44, 47-48)

Perfect? I am not there yet, but O, God, I want to be.