We’ve seen several reports of late on the systemic and widespread religious discrimination that has become common at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. Ample evidence and first-hand accounts from many former and current cadets points to religious intolerance and harassment against anyone who’s not Christian, including incidents of mandatory prayers, proselytizing by teachers, insensitivity to religious minorities, and general endorsement of evangelical Christianity by school administrators.
Today we learn directly from the school’s chaplain that the charges brought by current and former cadets are completely true.
A chaplain at the Air Force Academy has described a “systemic and pervasive” problem of religious proselytizing at the academy and says a religious tolerance program she helped create to deal with the problem was watered down after it was shown to officers, including the major general who is the Air Force’s chief chaplain.
The academy chaplain, Capt. MeLinda Morton, 48, spoke publicly for the first time as an Air Force task force arrived at the academy in Colorado Springs on Tuesday to investigate accusations that officers, staff members and senior cadets inappropriately used their positions to push their evangelical Christian beliefs on Air Force cadets.
Captain Morton, a Lutheran who has been a chaplain at the academy for two and a half years, offered a perspective that confirms our worst fears — the Academy favors one religious tradition over all others.
And while many don’t want to go on the record for fear of punishment, others at the Academy know Morton’s right.
Interviews with staff members and cadets must be approved by the public affairs office at the academy, and nearly all students and faculty members contacted independently this week said they were afraid to speak because it could harm their careers. The office denied requests for interviews with the academy’s chief chaplain, Col. Michael Whittington, because he was being interviewed by investigators.
One staff member who spoke on condition of anonymity said on Wednesday: “There’s certainly an impression that evangelicals here have that the leadership is kind of on their side. And there’s a feeling among people who are atheists or people who are other varieties of Christian that the leadership does not really accept them.”
This is an environment that’s simply unacceptable. The leadership of a military academy cannot expect to direct cadets while favoring some over others — during a time of war, no less — depending on whether administrators like their religious beliefs. Hugh Hewitt’s lunacy aside, this is a scandal that demands immediate attention.
And let’s also not lose sight of Captain Morton’s incredible courage here. As an Academy chaplain, she’s seen first-hand the systemic problems with the way religious minorities have been treated, but she’s also required to get permission before sharing her perspective with the public. In this case, Morton put her conscience first.
Captain Morton said she had decided to step forward without authorization from the public affairs office because: “It’s the Constitution, not just a nice rule we can follow or not follow. We all raised our hands and said we’d follow it, and that includes the First Amendment, that includes not using your power to advance your religious agenda.”
She added, “I realize this is the end of my Air Force career.”