Air Force focuses on religious respect
by Master Sgt. Mitch Gettle
Air Force Print News
4/29/2005 - WASHINGTON -- One’s religious beliefs, or the absence of beliefs in an established religion, should never be grounds for unlawful discrimination, the chief of the Air Force Chaplain Service said.
Chaplain (Maj. Gen.) Charles C. Baldwin recently explained the role of chaplains and respect for others’ beliefs throughout the Air Force.
“Our instructions include a code of ethics that requires chaplains to respect all faiths and work without judgment in a religiously pluralistic environment,” he said. “We have no tolerance for religious discrimination.”
The principle of respecting the religious views of others is nothing new for the Air Force or the military as a whole.
"We didn’t just begin to value religious freedom and individual rights," Chaplain Baldwin said. "This is a central part of our rich American heritage and is embodied in the First Amendment to the Constitution. It has been re-enforced through the years with countless acts of courage and sacrifice both large and small."
Starting Spring 2004, Air Force Academy leaders said they noticed some religion-related concerns from the results of a climate survey given to permanent party staff and faculty. Subsequently, they conducted a cadet climate survey and found a similar trend. In turn, the leaders encouraged the academy community to highlight specific incidents involving religion.
Through these self-initiated efforts last year, academy officials discovered more than 30 percent of non-Christian students who took the survey said Christian cadets are given preferential treatment, while less than 10 percent of Christian students felt that way. A little more than half of non-Christian students who took the survey reported they "have not felt pressure to be involved in religion" at the academy.
“We make sure our training centers -- the Air Force Academy, basic military training school at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, and the officer training school at Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala. -- are staffed at 100 percent to meet the spiritual needs of our Airmen and that these chaplains understand and teach the concepts or religious accommodation and respect,” Chaplain Baldwin said.
To re-enforce a learning and training environment that emphasizes the value of religious freedom and respect, academy officials instituted a new training program called Respecting the Spiritual Values of all People.
"The focus of the small-group seminars -- each facilitated by a chaplain, a lawyer and a commander -- is on the diversity of the Air Force and the need for each person to respect everyone else, regardless of their beliefs or faith," said Johnny Whitaker, Air Force Academy communications director.
"It is not about any particular religion or belief system, but ensuring that each Airman has the right to believe as he or she chooses,” he said. “The program uses some stage-setting briefings, clips from popular movies and role-playing videos to convey the parameters of practicing one’s religion and beliefs in a military setting.” It also addresses the limits on government employee’s practicing their religion in the work place.
The RSVP program prototype was redesigned into the current 50-minute seminars involving 35 to 50 people per session.
The training is mandatory for all of the nearly 9,000 people assigned to the academy, cadets and permanent party alike, and is scheduled to be completed by the end of May. RSVP is the first phase of planned, continuing respect training at the academy.
Michael L. Dominguez, acting secretary of the Air Force, and senior Air Force leaders said they are confident the academy and the Air Force at large will continue to promote self-critique, self-inspection and self-improvement in all areas. Air Force and the academy leaders remain committed to fostering a respectful and spiritual environment.
"(Gen. John P. Jumper, Air Force chief of staff) and I stand ready to provide any assistance (Lt. Gen. John W. Rosa Jr., academy superintendent) needs, and will stay in close touch with him as the academy deals with this issue," Mr. Dominguez said.
"This program encourages people to confidently and authentically live out their own faith and belief commitments, and deeply respect others whose spiritual strength comes from a faith or source different from their own," he said. “Such mutual respect is essential to the culture of the Airman.” |
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