Military: Atheist may attend own graduation ceremony
Read Time:1 Minute, 29 Second
Washington (CNN) – After almost being pulled from a graduation ceremony for refusal to lower the head during a benediction, a soldier is now allowed to attend but must instead stand at attention.
The 20-year-old private first class, a proclaimed atheist, is graduating from Advanced Individual Training at Fort Jackson in South Carolina on Thursday.
The soldier, who requested that CNN not give a name and gender for fear of repercussions, called the Military Religious Freedom Foundation on Wednesday after taking part in a rehearsal for the graduation.
The soldier told the watchdog group that during the rehearsal, officials ordered the soldiers to bow their heads and clasp their hands during the chaplain’s benediction. As an atheist, the soldier refused to do so.
“I immediately pointed out that not only is a prayer at a public ceremony unconstitutional, but to force someone to give the illusion of religion when the individual does not believe in any religion is blatantly wrong and very illegal,” the soldier said in an e-mail to the foundation.
The rest of the platoon “groaned” at the soldier’s stance, but the soldier wrote that “I stood my ground.”
“When you stand up like this, you make yourself a tarantula on a wedding cake,” said Mikey Weinstein, founder of the foundation. Weinstein said the soldier was “brave” for taking a stand.
Officials at Fort Jackson threatened to pull the soldier from the ceremony but then backed down, according to the soldier, after hearing that the soldier had contacted the religious freedom foundation.
“This is an absolute perfect example of the separation of church and state, and it takes a 20-year-old to stand up and say no,” Weinstein said.
Officials at Fort Jackson did not respond to a request for comment.
Happy
0 %
Sad
0 %
Excited
0 %
Sleepy
0 %
Angry
0 %
Surprise
0 %
0
0
I applaud the young private for his stand. The imposition of ANY religious beliefs upon others in the military should be strictly forbidden as it is in the constitution. Time is set asside in all military organizations for the voluntary private practice of their beliefs, it should not be a part of ANY military ceremony. I am a submarine service veteran and an atheist. There were many of us, most just ignored the religious stuff, but it should be completely curtailed from any formal or manditory gatherings of the military.
It has long been my view that the next group seeking equal rights will be non-believers. Mostly we are quiet about it but when our rights are infringed upon by ingrained religious policies, we will speak. The idea of the military enforcing religious practices frightening.