But there are other religious liberty issues in the military. Some relate to chaplains being ordered to compromise their faith. Many relate to LBGT issues.
The Synod is weighing in on some of these issues in various channels. The Lutheran Reporter has a story on the problem and the church’s efforts.
From Roger Drinnon,Synod, other advocates speak for religious liberty in secularized military, Lutheran Reporter:
The LCMS and certain other groups are speaking up for the rights of U.S. service members to live faithfully amid continued U.S. Defense Department infringements on religious freedom in the military.
Despite the Department of Defense’s (DoD’s) claims of accommodating religious expression in the military, a heavily secularized military culture, stemming from ongoing atheist activism and LGBT advocacy, seems to permeate each branch of military service. This has led to an environment where restrictions and even punitive actions reportedly are being imposed on chaplains, commanders and lower ranks who seek to serve without compromising their religious faith.
For example, at least a dozen parties have joined an amicus brief for the U.S. Supreme Court, including the Synod and the Chaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty, as the high court now considers taking the case of Sterling v. United States.
According to a First Liberty Institute press release, the Sterling case began when U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. Monifa Sterling was court-martialed for refusing to remove a Bible-themed passage from her workspace based on Is. 54:17, which read, “No weapons formed against me shall prosper.” Sterling was given a bad-conduct discharge and reduced to the military’s lowest rank prior to the discharge.
First Liberty Institute, along with former U.S. Solicitor General Paul Clement of Kirkland and Ellis LLP, represent Sterling in her appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
“Voices in the military, in the Church, in religious minorities and from across the nation are uniting to ask the Supreme Court to protect religious freedom,” said Kelly Shackelford, president and CEO of First Liberty Institute. “We hope the Supreme Court will heed their requests and accept this historic religious freedom-case.”
[Keep reading. . .]
Photo by Expert Infantry, “Military Chaplains,” Flickr, Creative Commons License. U.S. Army Capt. John Barkemeyer, a chaplain, conducts mass for Soldiers on a remote contingency operating base in Ramadi, Iraq, Sept. 20, 2007. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Kieran Cuddihy) (Released)
The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod may yet again be headed to the Supreme Court, at least to the extent of having filed an amicus brief in the case of a female Marine corporal who was given a bad-conduct discharge for refusing to take down a Bible verse in her workplace. (“No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper.” [Isaiah 54:17]) It remains to be seen if the court will take her case.
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