By Brandon Moseley
Alabama Political Reporter
Congressman Mike Rogers (R) from Saks responds to the controversy surrounding reports that Christians who preach their faith (including military chaplains) could potentially face a court-martial for preaching the Gospel.
Representative Rogers said, “As a Christian, I know the importance of my faith and strongly believe our brave men and women in uniform should have the right to worship and speak of their faith freely. This is a deeply troubling report, and I will monitor this situation closely during the upcoming defense bill debate.”
Representative Rogers is referring to the Pentagon’s confirmation of a Breitbart News Report that Obama administration official met with Mikey Weinstein on Apri 23. Weinstein is the head of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation. The Pentagon confirmed that Christian soldiers could potentially be court-martialed for expressing or sharing their faith.
LCDR Nate Christensen said in a written statement, “Religious proselytization is not permitted within the Department of Defense.” “Court martials and non-judicial punishments are decided on a case-by-case basis and it would be inappropriate to speculate on the outcome in specific cases.” Christensen however added, “The U.S. Department of Defense has never and will never single out a particular religious group for persecution or prosecution. The Department makes reasonable accommodations for all religions and celebrates the religious diversity of our service members.”
FoxNews’s Sean Hannity claimed that the reports of talks between the Pentagon and anti-Christian groups over possible new Pentagon tolerance policy guidelines shows that the Obama administration is engaged in a, “Cleansing of Christians in the United States Military.”
The President of the Family Research Council, Tony Perkins told Fox News, “Why would military leadership be meeting with one of the most rabid atheists in America to discuss religious freedom in the military. That’s like consulting with China on how to improve human rights,” referring to the Military Religious Freedom Foundation’s Mikey Weinstein.
Weinstein told Fox News that they are calling on court martials of any service member caught proselytizing and warned of a, “tidal wave of fundamentalists,” in the armed forces. “Someone needs to be punished for this. Until the Air Force or Army or Navy or Marine Corps punishes a member of the military for unconstitutional religious proselytizing and oppression, we will never have the ability to stop this horrible, horrendous, dehumanizing behavior.” Weinstein compared preaching the Gospel to mental rape.
Former Lt. General Jerry Boykins who is now the executive vice president of the Family Research Council (FRC), said on Fox & Friends, “It’s a matter of what do they mean by “proselytizing.” …I think they’ve got their defintions a little confused. If you’re talking about coercion that’s one thing, but if you’re talking about the free exercise of our faith as individual soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines, especially for the chaplains, they I think the worst thing we can do is stop the ability for a soldier to be able to exercise his faith.”
Congressman Mike Rogers represents Alabama’s Third congressional district.
