Changes in Store for 'Religious Scene' at Air Force Academy
by Chad Groening and Jenni Parker
June 23, 2005
(AgapePress) - A prominent military expert and Pentagon advisor says it's very discouraging that the U.S. Air Force Academy is moving to change the climate at the Colorado Springs campus in the wake of an investigation into alleged "religious intolerance" at the school.In a report released by the Pentagon, military investigators say the Academy has failed to accommodate the diverse religious needs of cadets and staff. While the investigative panel found there had been no overt discrimination, the probe required Academy leaders to clarify their policies on appropriate and inappropriate religious expression.
An Air Force team was appointed to investigate the religious climate at the school after hearing complaints from several groups, including Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, that evangelical Christians wield so much influence that anti-Semitism and other forms of religious harassment have become pervasive.
Retired Army Lt. Col. Bob Maginnis says the Academy's superintendent has already pledged to make changes.
"General [John] Rosa has said it's going to take six years to change the culture," Maginnis explains. "Well, changing the culture means that they're going to stamp out evangelical openness at the Air Force Academy, which I think is tragic -- especially in a time of war."
In addition, Maginnis says Christian faculty members will be under close scrutiny. He says he knows of at least one incoming professor who has been asked whether he is a Christian. "If that's a litmus test for future Academy faculty, then we clearly have overt anti-Christian discrimination," he says, "and that's very disconcerting."
Maginnis says he believes with an anticipated cultural change on campus, it could be much more difficult for Christians to be accepted at the Academy in the future.
Chad Groening, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
