Military, Politics, Religion, Society

Army Approves Concert For Agnostics and Atheists At Fort Bragg

In an important symbolic victory for soldiers who are atheist, agnostic, or non-theist, Fort Bragg has approved a concert called “Rock Beyond Belief.” While journalist Ernie Pyle may have said that “there are no atheists in foxholes,” we know that to be untrue. We have brave men and women fighting for their country without a belief in God or any specific God. They have faced open hostility in the military, so this is a major victory of sheer recognition.


Christian-based concerts are routinely held on military bases. Now, various musicians and atheist Richard Dawkins will be allowed to appear for soldiers with agnostic and atheist beliefs. The organizers had to fight hard for the concert and oppose an earlier denial of the same support given Christian concerts.

Mikey Weinstein, president of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, is quoted as summing up the true meaning of this change: “It’s not a victory for atheism or agnosticism over any type of religion, it’s a victory for the Constitution.” Amen brother.

Source: Washington Post

15 thoughts on “Army Approves Concert For Agnostics and Atheists At Fort Bragg”

  1. The problem with religious people is not that they want to have their religion.

    The problem with religious people is that they want OTHER PEOPLE to have their religion.

    Religion can only attain positions of power by the imposition of religion and violence. It has never achieved dominance by the rightness of argument.

  3. Make that the Cloyne report, not Ryan which dealt with an analysis of abuse in Irish institutions for children run by Catholic orders. The Cloyne report was an analysis of child abuse in the Parish of Cloyne. It was initiated by the Commission that studied child abuse in the Parish of Dublin. The Cloyne Report was issued on December 23, 2010, about a year after the Dublin Report. Here’s the report:

    http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/07/14/world/europe/14church-report.html

  4. Interesting speech about the five volume Ryan Report detailing Catholic Church inflicted child abuse in Ireland. The speaker is Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny, a practicing Catholic. Perhaps a reason for a sea change in public sentiment about anti-religionists.

  6. Dredd, somehow I’m thinkin’ “It was probably the “love your fellow man…” may not be the most on-point statement regarding the military philosophy though the Obama administration has worked hard to change that. 🙂
    ***

    mespo727272, thanks for the reminder.

  7. OS,

    You’re looking at one tree instead of a forest, Colorado Springs houses (or at least did for a very long time) the most Evangelical Christian Missionary organizations of any city in the world. It’s current population is only 416,427. Sometime for fun look at Google maps satelite view of the city. You’ll notice the only parking lots with cars in them are churches; the picture was taken on a Sunday. You still get the small town “which church do you attend?” The whole town’s super religious, not just the part that FOF happens to occupy.

    I used to work next FOF and some other organization shelving books for a publisher’s law library. They published one of those massive compilations of case laws, and the people who did the fact checking for the new editions work in the Springs. It was great job.

  9. I have to agree with Mikey Weinstein.

    It is nice to see the Constitution win.

  11. It was probably the “love your fellow man” and “war is peace” crowd of religionists who helped the atheists and agnostics develop their personal understanding.

    Even the fellow who is said to be the Muslim, Christian, and Jewish patriarch, Abraham, had some difficult times during his struggle to grasp the dichotomy.

  12. Frankly:

    “My kid was amazed at how hard the Army push Christian right-wing philosophy when he went in.”

    ************************
    Not all that surprising.

    “Religion is regarded by the common people as true, by the wise as false, and by the rulers as useful.”
    ~Seneca

  13. I know the Air Force Academy has a history of pushing a fundamentalist form of christianism on the cadets. Does anyone know if this may be an effect of being in close proximity to the Focus on the Family organization?

  14. My kid was amazed at how hard the Army push Christian right-wing philosophy when he went in. It was obvious to him that this ideology was approved from command and pervasive.

    The most extreme example he saw came one Sunday when the chaplain preached an entire sermon on the fact that Bill and Hillary were the Anti-Christ.

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