ATHEISTS & BELIEVERS IN FOXHOLES: RELIGION AND THE MILITARY

[Lep]

Join us for a round table discussion on these issues and more at the Edmonton Public Library Tuesday July 06, 2010 @ 7pm.

Religions are powerful institutions in society; so, too, are the military, especially the enormous US military might. Of concern over the past several years is that role that religion, especially the right-wing evangelical faith, plays within the US military. What is the proper role of religion in the military? Does a pro-Christian culture permeate the armed forces? Is the experience different in the Canadian Forces, or do we have similar concerns?

Also, the old canard "There are no atheists in foxholes." continues to circulate in the public consciousness, despite the clear tradition and fine examples of freethinkers in both the US and Canadian military who nobly serve their countries while being true to their own beliefs. Our own resident foxhole-dweller, Paul Welke, will shatter this myth, and provide comment and insight on his experience within the Canadian Armed Forces.

One group, founded by Michael L. “Mikey” Weinstein in 2005 to address the growing concern of religion in the military, is the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (http://www.militaryreligiousfreedom.org/). The MRFF also maintains a blog (http://mrff.blogspot.com/). Another such group is the Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers (http://www.maaf.info/), which among other issues advocates for secular counselling for the ranks to access (http://www.maaf.info/chaplain.html), a role traditionally filled only by the military chaplain (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_Chaplain). The financial support for such a chaplain in under constitutional scrutiny in the US for potentially violating the doctrine of separation of church and state, and this doctrine may be a way to stem the tide of undue influence on American military power in the future.

[Paul R. Welke]

It may be of note that Mikey Weinstein is not an atheist/agnostic, but a Jew. It seems that he takes issue with the fact that the US military is comprised of Evangelical Christians and, well, NOT Evangelical Christians. They are powerful enough that they have marginalized atheists, Wiccans, Jews, Muslims, moderate Christians, etc. and effectively made their military into a huge "Us vs Them" scenario. We're part of "Them."

Luckily, things are starting to come around, in no small part because the US Constitution is on Weinstein's side. Although I would likely find some faults with Mikey's personal beliefs, he is a principled enough man that I consider him an ally on this front, and would hope that he fells the same of me.

MCpl. Paul R. Welke
Former Member of the Canadian Forces Intelligence Branch