Conservatives remain concerned about the military’s rules regarding soldiers sharing their faith despite efforts by the Pentagon to quell the controversy.
Republican Sens. Mike Lee (Utah), Ted Cruz (Texas), and Lindsey Graham (S.C.), sent a letter to Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel last week inquiring about the Pentagon’s potentially changing its regulations for how soldiers may discuss their faith.
The senators expressed concern over the effect that any changes would have on the military and asked the secretary if any pending changes comply with current legal protections for soldiers.
"We are very concerned that potential changes could endanger the rights of members of the armed services to practice and share their faith. Policies that prohibit discussion of religious matters by military members could create a chilling effect on members of the armed services of any faith and have an adverse effect on recruitment and retention efforts and the morale of our troops," the senators wrote in the letter dated May 7.
Lee said he had not yet received a response from the Department of Defense. A department spokesman said he does not know what the status of the secretary’s response is because Hagel responds to inquiries personally.
"It came to my attention that Air Force officials met with the head of a group that espouses anti-religious freedom rhetoric," Lee said when asked about the letter. "It is unclear if the meeting was an indication that the Air Force might be considering changing their policies, so we wanted to ensure the rights of members of the military would be protected."
That April 23 meeting was between Mikey Weinstein, president of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, and top Air Force leaders, including several generals, according to a Washington Post editorial. Weinstein and others expressed concerns about Christians sharing their faith in the military.
Weinstein’s meeting with top Air Force commanders came after he wrote an editorial in the Huffington Post in which he called Christians who defend religious freedom "pitiable unconstitutional carpetbaggers" and "human monsters."
The Air Force then published a new religious policy at the urging of Weinstein, the Washington Post suggested. The policy prohibited officers from using their position "to promote their personal religious beliefs to their subordinates or to extend preferential treatment for any religion," the Post wrote. Soldiers who violate the policy could be court-martialed.
News of the Air Force policy set off a firestorm.
Breitbart News ran an article declaring, "Pentagon Taps Anti-Christian Extremist For Religious Tolerance Policy," as well as a follow-up piece titled, "Pentagon May Court Martial Soldiers Who Share Christian Faith."
Fox News picked up the story, and the Family Research Council launched a petition on April 29 urging the military to protect soldiers’ religious freedom. The petition has over 166,000 signatures.
The military sent mixed messages when trying to quell the controversy. A Pentagon spokesman first told Fox News, "Religious proselytization is not permitted within the Department of Defense."
The department issued a statement a few days later on May 2 affirming its respect for the rights of all soldiers and denying Weinstein was a consultant to the military, contrary to Breitbart News’ reporting.
The Army Times also reported that the Air Force was not issuing any new regulations in response to Weinstein’s meeting with the branch’s brass. The timing of the launch of the "blue book" was purely coincidental, an Air Force spokesman told the Times.
The same day that the Pentagon released its second statement, it released a third statement distinguishing between evangelization, which is permitted, and proselytization, which is prohibited.
"Service members can share their faith (evangelize) but must not force unwanted, intrusive attempts to convert others of any faith or no faith to one's beliefs (proselytization)," the Pentagon’s statement said.
"We would see evangelizing and proselytizing as essentially the same thing," said former Army Lieutenant General Jerry Boykin, now executive vice president at the Family Research Council.
"The freedom of religion means you can live your faith, and for a Christian that includes sharing your faith," Boykin said.
Boykin remains concerned.
"Their statements have been contradictory, so we don’t know which statement is the current or accurate statement," Boykin said, calling the Pentagon’s position "nebulous."
Boykin said he supports a prohibition on coercion, if that is what the military is after. He called for a clear, department-wide policy protecting soldiers’ right to practice their religion as they see fit.
Boykin sent a request to the Pentagon on May 3 to meet with Hagel. He has yet to receive a response.
Weinstein’s office did not return a request for comment.