Air Force will now allow atheist oaths

We blogged about the atheist airman who was not allowed to re-enlist unless he could swear the military oath to protect the Constitution “so help me God.”  The Air Force has changed its policy to allow that part to be left out, a move being applauded by religious liberty groups.

From Air Force says ‘so help me God’ is optional for enlistment oath | Fox News:

The Air Force says airmen will now be allowed to omit the words “so help me God” from its enlistment oath – marking a change in policy that is being affirmed by both atheist and religious liberty groups.

The decision comes after an airman at Creech Air Force Base in Nevada struck out the words on his Department of Defense reenlistment paperwork and ran up against a policy that prohibits omissions.

The case went up to the Department of Defense General Counsel, which issued an opinion Wednesday saying the language could be left out if the airman preferred.

“We take any instance in which Airmen report concerns regarding religious freedom seriously,” Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James said in a statement. “We are making the appropriate adjustments to ensure our Airmen’s rights are protected.”