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Group: Protect military’s nonbelievers

President-elect Barack Obama is being urged to provide freedom from religion for service members who claim no religious faith.

The Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers and the Secular Coalition for America have sent a joint letter to Obama asking him to prevent religious discrimination against the 21 percent of service members who have no religious affiliation.

“What we are asking is that nontheistic service personnel be extended the same institutional protections and support that traditional faith groups enjoy,” said Jason Torpy, president of the Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers.

To do that, Torpy said a new military directive should be issued that “explicitly” identifies nonbelievers as a protected class of personnel.

In a letter sent Nov. 10, the two groups ask Obama “to consider the documented problems of religious discrimination in our military that you will inherit from the Bush administration.”

They are referring to complaints about proselytizing by evangelical Christians and about harassment and discrimination reported by some troops.

In particular, the letter notes the rise of military-related evangelical associations that view the military as an organization to be transformed by encouraging their members to proselytize other military personnel.

And they say chaplains, who are supposed to have dual functions as religious leaders and morale officers, do not seem especially interested in protecting the right not to worship.

“Not only do chaplains often fail to intervene when subordinates are harassed, denied promotions, proselytized or threatened, they often are the worst offenders,” said Lori Lipman Brown, the Secular Coalition’s director.

Torpy and Brown seek four things from Obama. They want:

• People being screened for appointment or promotion to senior ranks to be vetted to determine if they will protect religious liberty.

• A new defense directive that clearly outlaws promoting religion over nonreligion in the military.

• A survey of military personnel to determine if religious discrimination is a problem.

• A commission established to oversee religious accommodations.

Obama transition officials had no comment on the letter, saying they were not even sure if it had been received because the president-elect has been bombarded with ideas for his administration.

A staff is busy trying to organize the suggestions, according to transition aides.