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Officials: Fort Leavenworth open to all faiths

TOPEKA, Kan. — Responding to allegations of anti-Semitism and violations of religious freedom, officials at Fort Leavenworth said Thursday they continue to review Christian materials posted on their Web site since 1999, but maintain that the Army post welcomes worship by all faiths.

The allegations surfaced this week when Michael Weinstein, founder of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, threatened to sue the military for what he says is a constitutional violation of religious freedom. Along with concerns about improper proselytizing occurring on a military installation, several Bible studies posted on an Army Web site pushed Christianity and blamed Jews for acts of terrorism.

Fort Leavenworth removed the pages linking to the Bible studies on the post chaplain’s Web site. Janet Wray, spokeswoman for the post, said the materials continued to be reviewed, though other links to religious services and points of contact remained online.

A statement from Wray and post officials said, “All faith groups are welcomed and encouraged to worship or study according to their faith traditions and beliefs.”

There are several avenues for Christians, Jews and Muslims to practice their faith on post and in the nearby community.

Weinstein repeated his concerns Thursday that officers at Fort Leavenworth and throughout the military were using “command influence” to push their faith on subordinates.

“What they are saying is all faiths are welcome to be evangelized by these militant Christians,” he said. “The others will be looked at as low-hanging fruit in a target-rich environment for their version of Christianity.”

Mathew Staver, founder of the Liberty Counsel and dean of the Liberty University School of Law, said Weinstein’s goal was to drive evangelicals out of the military by attacking the Bible studies and other materials. Staver said the role of chaplains dates to George Washington’s reliance on faith in the Revolutionary War.

“I think it’s an insult that Mr. Weinstein is attacking that history,” Staver said. “He should have better things to do than to break up private Bible studies.”

The material was first posted by the Fort Leavenworth Command Chaplain in 1999 and was meant as part of a comprehensive religious program, Wray said.

“The material was part of a Protestant study of the Bible and as such, contains theological material related to the New Testament,” Wray said. The purpose of the material was to foster and understanding of historical context and contemporary application and was not intended to demean or be offensive to any other faith tradition or community.”

Wray said the material was posted on the government’s Web site, rather than linked to an outside source, to satisfy a need among study groups and to get the information out into the community.

Staver said Weinstein and others were taking “snippets” of the Bible out of context and labeling those excerpts — and evangelicals — as anti-Semitic.

“I think the latest claim is the latest attempt to go over the top and expunge religion from the military,” Staver said.

Weinstein said the foundation isn’t saying soldiers and officers can’t practice their faith or have discussions about issues. What is wrong, he said, is for the government to post such documents on a public Web site that suggests such views about Jews or other Christians are acceptable.

“I would feel this way if it was West Bank Orthodox Jews trying to do this,” said Weinstein, who is Jewish.

Weinstein said the Fort Leavenworth materials are just the “tip of the iceberg” in terms of violations of religious freedoms in the military. He said he has received more than 4,200 contacts from people in the military raising similar concerns, the bulk coming from mainstream Protestant denominations.

But despite raising the concerns with the military, Weinstein said the only way to eliminate the problem is to take legal action.

“The reason why the Army pulled the materials so quickly is because they know they have another thing coming,” he said. “It is completely inexcusable that it was on the Web site.”