Rabbi Barry Baron and Jason Torpy talk during a break at the 2010 Religious Respect Conference Nov. 16, 2010, at the Air Force Academy, Colo. Conference topics included how to define religious respect and the roles of both commanders and chaplains in accommodating requests for religious expression. Rabbi Baron is the deputy director of the Jewish Welfare Board Jewish Chaplains Council. Mr. Torpy is the president of the Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Don Branum)
Chaplain (Maj.) Peter Fischer and the Right Reverend James Magness talk during a break at the Religious Respect Conference Nov. 16, 2010, at the Air Force Academy, Colo. Topics at the conference included balancing freedom of religious expression with the Constitution's prohibition against establishing or endorsing religion. Chaplain Fischer is the Academy's senior protestant chaplain. Reverend Magness is the bishop suffragan for federal ministries for the Office of Federal Ministries of the Episcopal Church. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Don Branum)
by Staff Sgt. Don Branum
U.S. Air Force Academy Public Affairs
11/18/2010 - U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. (AFNS) -- Leaders from national Christian, Jewish, Freethinker, Earth-Centered and interfaith religious organizations met here Nov. 15 to 16 to discuss how the Air Force Academy can best train cadets to respect other faiths and continue to foster an environment that encourages accommodation of religious practices.
Joining them were senior Air Force leaders and chaplains, including Lt. Gen. Richard Newton III, the Air Force director of manpower and personnel, Lt. Gen. Mike Gould, the Academy superintendent; Chaplain (Col.) Jimmy Browning, the deputy commandant of the Air Force Chaplain Corps College at Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala.; and four members of the Academy's Cadet Interfaith Council.
Chaplain (Maj.) David Rademacher walked conference attendees through the training currently provided to cadets during Basic Cadet Training. The briefing, offered in the first week of BCT, clarifies cadets' rights to religious expression.
One true-or-false question offered in the training asks cadets whether it is okay to share their religious faith (true), while another asks whether it is permissible for Academy staff or upperclassmen to compel lower-ranking cadets to attend religious activities (false).
"'Upper class' and 'compel' belong in the same sentence no matter what," Chaplain Rademacher said. "But this lets the (cadets) see that they do have more rights than just the ones they're given. Cadre cannot compel you to do something when it comes to the first amendment."
Training for upperclass cadets is expected to broaden the religious respect perspective, providing the juniors and seniors with a commander's toolkit for religious guidelines that includes advice and counsel from chaplains.
Commanders make final decisions on religious accommodation with advice and input from chaplains, said Chaplain (Capt.) Steven Cuneio. Moreover, commanders must create an environment where subordinates feel free to request accommodations for their faith practices.
While the training slides define religion, unlawful discrimination and disparaging terms, some of the concepts at the core of what the Academy is trying to instill are not well-defined or not defined at all.
Jason Torpy, the president of the Military Alliance of Atheists and Freethinkers, said the Academy course should clarify whether respect should be paid to the person or to the belief system.
Because religious beliefs are sometimes diametrically opposed, it's impossible to expect everyone to respect everyone else's beliefs, said Retired Chaplain (Col.) Jack Williamson, the executive director of the National Conference on Ministry to the Armed Forces.
Respect must therefore focus on the person, he said.
The Air Force definition of religion does allow for non-traditional belief systems, including atheism, said Chaplain (Maj.) Peter Fischer, the Academy's senior protestant chaplain.
This is important, given the increasing diversity of religious views within the Academy and the broader military, he said.
"When I came into the chaplain corps as a chaplain assistant in 1983, our shield had a cross, the (Ten Commandments) and the Star of David on it, because Judeo-Christian beliefs were what we accommodated," he added. "That's just not true today."
Dr. David Oringderff, one of the founders of the Earth-Centered Sacred Well Congregation, said his presence at the table was a testament to the Academy's strides in recognizing the importance of religious diversity within the military.
Academy officials' efforts to embrace religious respect could affect international relations, said retired Chaplain (Col.) Darrell Morton, the assistant to the presiding bishop for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's Federal Chaplaincy Ministries.
"Religion has far too long been treated as ancillary to a human being, perhaps because of our culture of church-state separation, but religion is part of the core of a human being," Chaplain Morton said. "What you're trying to accomplish here is an important part of that."
Many of the participants said they were honored to have been invited, and encouraged Academy officials to continually improve the religious respect training program in the months and years ahead.
General Gould said the Academy would continue to improve the process. He told the Cadet Interfaith Council attendees that he wanted them to be a part of it.
"We have the leadership team here, and we understand it's a command issue," he said. "There isn't a finish line that we bust through and declare victory; it's ongoing. We'll keep moving forward every day."
