Army Chaplain Holds Christian Prayer During Suicide Prevention Class, Soldiers Say
During an Army-wide stand down for suicide prevention sessions, a Christian chaplain in Texas improperly led rookie soldiers in a candlelight prayer, an Army instructor said in a formal complaint last week.
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Gettman said the chaplain ordered the lights turned off and battery-operated candles passed around as the soldiers were told to bow their heads. "The entire theater was forced into a mass Christian prayer," she said. "I heard him refer to his 'Heavenly Father' and 'Lord.'"
Among those "trapped" in the room, said Gettman, was a Buddhist student of hers. There were also at least two Jewish soldiers who voluntarily chose not to take off the day -- it was Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar -- in order to attend what they were told was a mission-critical session on suicide prevention.
"This is one of the most jaw-dropping and blatant violations I've seen in a very long time," said Army Sgt. Justin Griffith, military director of the private-sector group American Atheists. "In theory, the rule is you can make it religious or you can make it mandatory, but you can't make it both."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/02/military-proselytizing-army-chaplain_n_1930703.html?ir=Religion&ncid=edlinkusaolp00000008
