Military Religious Freedom Foundation Wants Fort Carson Hospital To Remove 'Religious' Emblem

DENVER — A religious watchdog group says a cross and motto on the emblem of an Army hospital in Colorado violate the constitutional requirement for separation of church and state and should be removed.

The Military Religious Freedom Foundation asked the Army this week to change the emblem of Evans Army Community Hospital at Fort Carson, outside Colorado Springs.

The emblem says "Pro deo et humanitate" or "For God and humanity."

Fort Carson commanders will review the complaint, Lt. Col. Steve Wollman said.

He said the emblem had been approved by the Army Institute of Heraldry and has been in use since 1969.

Wollman said references to doctors serving God and humanity date to the time of Hippocrates, a pre-Christianity Greek physician.

Wollman said the cross, which has a pointed base, is both an emblem of mercy and a symbol dating to the Middle Ages, when pilgrims carried a cross with a spiked base to mark the site of a camp.

Mikey Weinstein, president of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, said that's a reference to the Crusades and could embolden U.S. enemies who want to portray the war on terror as a Christian war on Islam.

"This continues to add more fodder to the argument that we are Crusaders," Weinstein said. "It's exactly what fundamentalist Muslims want."

Weinstein's foundation, based in Albuquerque, N.M., last week persuaded the Army to withdraw an invitation to evangelist Franklin Graham to speak at the Pentagon on May 6, the National Day of Prayer.

Weinstein cited comments Graham made in 2001 describing Islam as evil. The Army said it withdrew the invitation because Graham's remarks were "not appropriate."

Graham is the son of famed evangelist Billy Graham.

Rep. Jack Kingston, R-Ga., asked the House Armed Services Committee this week to hold hearings on what he called "a growing movement in the military to censor certain biblical teachings."

Weinstein said he lodged the complaint about the cross on behalf of 43 people at Fort Carson. He said 29 of them are Protestants or Catholics. One is a civilian and the others are enlisted personnel or junior officers.

He said they took their concerns to him for fear of reprisals if they complained to military commanders. Weinstein said none wanted to be identified.

Comments

[1differentdrummer]

06:56 AM on 05/05/2010

Want to see another one? Go to Golden and see the Jeffco court house. Look carefully, it's there.

[Blixa]

11:03 PM on 05/04/2010

"Rep. Jack Kingston, R-Ga., asked the House Armed Services Committee this week to hold hearings on what he called "a growing movement in the military to censor certain biblical teachings.""

Hilarious. He's spun this to read like it's censorship. Nobody is banning beliefs; last I checked, the US military had chaplains to assist those who want to discuss the Bible. It's time to accept that the many people who have no interest in Christian mythology or symbolism should not have them shoved down their throats by the government. Rep Kingston, your agenda is showing.

More and more people are finding the courage to speak up. A DoD survey shows 23% are atheists or no religion. They deserve respect.
http://www.maaf.info/demographics.html
http://www.maaf.info/

[Ron Calhoun]

11:34 AM on 04/30/2010

Free exercise there of, everyone forgets about that line.

Sadly, M Weinsterin, founder of MRFF proudly proclaims on the top of his website, "There is only one religious faith: American patriotism."

[spc fuller]

10:48 AM on 04/30/2010

I have served in military for 13 years, been shot at, called in support for our actions in the Gulf War and now some muslim affiliate group wants to remove religious symbols from our medical staff as well as chaplain corpe? i think not! go back yo your little world and leave us alone.

[Ron Calhoun]

11:29 AM on 04/30/2010

Correct, M Weinsterin, founder of MRFF proudly proclaims on the top of his website, "There is only one religious faith: American patriotism."

His mission statement say, "MRFF also recognizes the need for military personnel to at times temporarily relinquish some Constitutionally granted personal freedoms for the sake of military discipline and objectives."

[jdf7376]

05:10 PM on 04/30/2010

Excuse me but what are our soldiers fighting for, then?

[ghf]

04:29 PM on 05/04/2010

To the best of my knowledge MRFF is not 'some muslim affilate group. Please see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_Religious_Freedom_Foundation

[racegator]

08:53 AM on 04/30/2010

One Nation Under GOD !! That's right Under GOD.. If you do not like it LEAVE..take your non
english speaking relatives and get OUT..It's that easy.. GOD Will Win and we will rejoice.
GOD Bless our Army Navy Air Force and Marines..GOD Bless America..If you do not stand
up for something ,,you will fall for anything..I guess yall have already fallen.

[ghf]

03:59 PM on 05/04/2010

Not being too snarky but which or whose God?

The God of the Catholics who right now hasn't smote the Bishops and Cardinals for their silence about child abuse?

Or the God of the Air Force Academy that, according to many in leadership, wanted to have nothing to do with the God of Non-Evangelicals.

The God who bans LBGTs or ordains them?

Please tell me which translation of Holy Scripture is the official one. How many books does it contain? How are we supposed to say the 'real' Our Father?

FYI my non English speaking relatives arrived in the US in time to fight in the French-Indian Wars, later others fought in the Revolutionary War (both sides), Civil War (both sides), - from then on we only fought for the US in the War of 1812, Spanish-American War and WW I & II. There were others but I forget them and am too lazy to search the family tree.

To SGAMMO - I 'wore the patch' for 20 years (Korea and Vietnam) and my father for 30 - so I 'double dipped' for 21 years as an AF Brat.

When will "Good Christians" actually recognize that each of us has the right to be free to (or not to) worship in a manner significant to self?

Every right has a corresponding responsibility. The 'right' to worship 'MY' God means that I have the responsibility to respect how you worship 'YOUR' God - and that includes symbols that denigrate 'YOUR' God.

[GEM-592]

12:07 AM on 05/06/2010

Racegator, the face of the new HuffPo

[sgammo]

10:18 PM on 04/29/2010

If they don't wear the patch, they should have no say

[jdf7376]

05:10 PM on 04/30/2010

Totally agree. I also happen to believe that if you've never experienced combat or talked with those who have, then there is no way you can say you fully understand what a soldier goes through and how faith in God can help.

[1differentdrummer]

08:25 PM on 04/29/2010

Why can't we get the US military out of religion? Is there anything wrong with troops being religious? No, but there is something wrong with the military being in religion. I was in an infantry battalion back in the day and we were marched to a service conducted by a chaplain. Why do we need this symbolism at Ft. Carson?

[Ron Calhoun]

11:31 AM on 04/30/2010

the military IS NOT in religion.

[Ronald Brown]

02:45 PM on 04/30/2010

Lets burn the bible and do away with laws such as anything that might be punishable for murder as this is a direct link to our religion so there for our government should not be able to punish and only our churches!!! Yes!

[Jesus Lover 72]

05:14 PM on 04/30/2010

Burning your birth certificate, won't get rid of you.
Burning the multiplication table, won't get rid of math.
Burning the Bible, won't get rid of GOD...& one day, we'll all stand before HIM.
What are you going to say?
Salvation is Free, as long as you haven't taken your last breath.
After that, it will be ETERNALLY too late.

[VeryFairMOR]

06:31 PM on 04/29/2010

Remember, there is no separation of church and state in the constitution.
There is an establishment clause. The state shall not establish a religion. The godless left continues it' attacks on christianity.
I am one that believes that ahteism is a religion. Atheists deserve no more rights than chrtistians.

[jdf7376]

05:11 PM on 04/30/2010

Oh, I agree. Everyone has the right to delude themselves.

[GEM-592]

12:09 AM on 05/06/2010

... and agnostics deserve more rights than either.

[Donald Knappenberger]

03:47 PM on 04/29/2010

I think we as a nation are getting ridiculous with this church and God thing. If yu are an athiest you do have your own religion whether you want to accept that fact or not. You need to quit trying to push your beliefs down everyones throat. I spent 20 years in the Army and am a retired 1SG who retired at Ft Carson. I see nothing wrong with the symbol and think it shuold stay. Any other religion has a right to put up whatever they want wherever they want but as soon as a Christian puts up a cross everyone one wants to put him in front of a firing squad. If you want to repress everyones rights and freedoms that I helped fight for and keep for you then just leave and go to one of those countries where you will fit in.

[Ron Calhoun]

11:32 AM on 04/30/2010

"You need to quit trying to push your beliefs down everyones throat." I agree.

[Joel Tyberg]

03:17 PM on 04/30/2010

Isn't that exactly what publishing the cross on a military symbol does? Doesn't that, in fact, push christianity (or christ-insanity, as I like to call it) down the throats of everyone who isn't a christian? Is our military only populated by christians? Are there no jews or muslims or hindu or buddhists? What about their religious rights?

It seems that our military has gotten to christianized as of late. Are we fighting a crusade? What are we fighting for anyway? Can anyone actually answer that question for either war scenario?

[Jesus Lover 72]

05:00 PM on 04/30/2010

WELL said...God bless you...

We're forever grateful to you for serving...
May there be a special place for you in heaven...We'll be friends.

[rejoyce5]

03:00 PM on 04/29/2010

This is ridiculous.

[jrsh]

12:14 PM on 04/29/2010

I support MRFF with small donations and a large amount of thanks for having the courage to make us face that GOD and the US are NOT the same.

[hvserved]

05:14 PM on 04/29/2010

It truely amazes me how narrow minded one can be when it comes to the rights and expressions of someone with a view point that differs from theirs. You probly believe that the new law in AZ is racists.

[Joel Tyberg]

03:20 PM on 04/30/2010

Um, sorry, but that law is "racists." No way around that. Talk about analogous with fascism/nazi thought. Papers! Give me your papers!

[Ron Calhoun]

11:33 AM on 04/30/2010

M Weinsterin, founder of MRFF proudly proclaims on the top of his website, "There is only one religious faith: American patriotism."

[Michele Himmel]

12:13 PM on 04/29/2010

Bunch of moronic nit pickers who don`t have lives. This crap is getting ridiculous.

[ZenGardner]

12:27 PM on 04/29/2010

Agreed... and I'm atheist (and a soldier).

[jdf7376]

05:05 PM on 04/30/2010

Have you been in combat?

[Ron Calhoun]

11:33 AM on 04/30/2010

M Weinsterin, founder of MRFF proudly proclaims on the top of his website, "There is only one religious faith: American patriotism."

[ghf]

04:30 PM on 05/04/2010

So?