The Air Force recently suspended a military ethics course taught by chaplains because the training referenced the Bible and featured religious imagery.

Church and State separatists herald the decision as a victory for the U.S. Constitution. However, legal group Liberty Counsel argues that chaplains, by right of their office, are free to invoke religious themes in their trainings.

“Allowing chaplains to include Christian values and themes in ethics presentations does not violate the establishment clause. It’s not even a mixing of church and state,” asserted LC Founder Mathew Staver.

Rather, Staver said, “it’s a violation of freedom of religion when the Air Force seeks to suspend this ethics course solely because it has some Christian themes that are being taught by chaplains.”

Chaplains, he explained, are unique in that “their actual commission is from the religious institution [they represent].”

Chaplains are authorized to speak about the theology and teachings of their faith, stated Staver. Those who hinder chaplains from speaking from his or her faith do so to the detriment of the soldiers they serve.

“If we were to exclude [soldiers] from the choice of having chaplains and to Christian, Judeo-Christian messages and counseling, then we would literally be prohibiting them from exercising their religious beliefs and practices,” he explained.

The non-profit organization Truthout reported the course taught at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California was suspended in late July. Before the suspension, chaplains taught the course to first-week missile officers for over 20 years.

David Smith, a spokesperson for the Air Force’s Air Education and Training Command, said the course has been halted so that training materials could be “given thorough scrutiny.”

A PowerPoint presentation obtained from the course referenced scripture verses such as Hebrews 11 to show that people of faith can and have engaged in war, in a section entitled “War and Faith.” The section also cited biblical figures including Abraham, Samson and David as religious figures that fought wars in a righteous manner.

Read More