From Americans United for separation of Church and State: https://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/crying-wolf-religious-right-falsely-claims-anti-christian-discrimination-by
by Simon Brown
May 3, 2013
Religious Right forces have been in a tizzy lately over a rumor that if U.S. military personnel express their Christian faith, it could lead to disciplinary action. But as usual, it seems fundamentalist charges of persecution are greatly exaggerated.
In recent weeks, the Religious Right cried wolf in response to reports that the Pentagon was considering a policy change that could go so far as to court-martial the faithful simply for sharing their faith.
As tends to happen, this rumor lead to some pretty heated rhetoric from the usual suspects.
Family Research Council President Tony Perkins expressed outrage that the Obama administration is involved in an “anti-Christian offensive.” His colleague, FRC Executive Vice President Lt. Gen. (Ret.) William “Jerry” Boykin, added, “If this policy goes forward, Christians within the military who speak of their faith could now be prosecuted as enemies of the state.”
Jay Sekulow, head of TV preacher Pat Robertson’s American Center for Law and Justice, made similar remarks.
“There are ominous signs the U.S. military is turning its back on religious freedom,” he warned, adding that Pentagon officials are considering “new policies that may roll back religious liberty – especially for Christians.”
CitizenLink, an affiliate of Focus on the Family, also expressed alarm about supposed anti-Christian discrimination and rehashed Perkins’ comments.
There’s just one teeny problem with these claims of persecution: they’re not true.
So what started this nasty rumor? It seems Fox News is partly to blame. Warren Throckmorton, a professor at Grove City College in Pennsylvania, said Fox commentator Todd Starnes took a quote from Lt. Cmdr. Nate Christensen out of context and fueled the controversy.
On April 30, Starnes wrote: “The Pentagon confirmed to Fox News that Christian evangelism is against regulations.”
Continue reading at: https://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/crying-wolf-religious-right-falsely-claims-anti-christian-discrimination-by
