The Religious Liberty Committee of the American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado strongly endorses the demands made by the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF) in its letter to the Secretary of Defense, dated 9/28/10.
We agree that the content of the USAF Academy’s recent “Climate Survey” of religious, racial and sexual preference attitudes by Cadets and Staff should be publicly released, as in the past.
We endorse the Foundation’s demand for an immediate and comprehensive study by the Dept. of Defense of any direct or tacit endorsement by the USAF Academy Superintendent or other staff, of aggressive proselytizing by fundamentalist Christian factions of USAF Academy cadets and staff, both on and off campus.
Such endorsement, implied or otherwise, as detailed in the Foundation’s letter, is a clear violation of the principle of separation of religion and government, as required by the First Amendment of the Constitution. All cadets at the USAF Academy and, indeed, all members of our Armed Forces must be granted full freedom of their religious beliefs, and it is government’s responsibility to preserve these liberties for the brave protectors of our freedoms.
A USAF Academy dorm hall.
Read the MRFF's letter to Secretary of Defense Robert Gates.
