Several sailors expressed their displeasure following the placement of a Bible on the POW-MIA table at the Naval Air Facility Atsugi, Japan, and an atheist group is asking for it to be removed on their behalf.
CBN's Faithwire reports that in response to 15 complaints over the "unconstitutional presence" of a Christian Bible on the facility's POW/MIA table, the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF) issued a letter "demanding that this symbol of Christian supremacy be swiftly removed."
In the letter, MRFF Founder and President Mikey Weinstein informed Captain John M. Montagnet of a "very serious violation of the No Establishment Clause of the First Amendment of the United States Constitution sadly occurring under your direct command."
After that, Weinstein called into question Captain Montagnet's leadership abilities, writing, "These sailors are justly fearful of unlawful retribution, revenge, retaliation and reprisal if they raise their complaints to you, sir, through your NAF Atsugi chain of command which obviously calls into question the command climate you are responsible for at NAF Atsugi. Thus, they have come to MRFF to carry their grievances to you directly, Captain Montagnet."
"This is not a move against Christianity, but one toward inclusivity," Weinsten told Stars and Stripes in a phone interview on Monday. "Not every sailor is a white, straight Anglo-Saxon Christian male."
The letter was also reportedly delivered to Army Gen. Mark Milley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Acting Secretary of the Navy Thomas Harker, and Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Michael M. Gilday.
However, according to Navy order 1710.7A for table settings for all military branches, the display must contain a Bible to symbolize "faith in a higher power and the pledge to our country, founded as one nation under God," Stars and Stripes reports.
Aside from a Bible, the order also stipulates that tables used for the display must be round and include a white tablecloth, a black napkin, a single red rose, a yellow candle and ribbon, lemon slices, salt and an overturned wine glass. An empty chair must be included as well.
Asked about the letter on Monday, base spokesman Sam Samuelson responded by email that he was unaware of it.
Samuelson stated that "the POW-MIA table here is a significant legacy display intended to memorialize and honor American POWs and MIAs among a varied military demographic and is certainly greater than the sum of its parts. We can absolutely balance the larger meaning of the table with appropriate policies and the interests of our diverse base culture."
Other petitions to remove the Bible from the display
According to Stars and Stripes, a number of the MRFF's petitions have been successful in the past five years, including the removal of Bibles from POW-MIA tables at Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio, four Veterans Administration offices located in Pennsylvania, Texas, and Ohio, and a clinic at the Eglin Air Force Base in Florida.
An inspector general complaint was filed against the Navy by the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF) in 2018 over a Bible that was displayed at the United States Naval Hospital Okinawa as part of a POW-MIA table exhibit.
The MRFF backed a federal lawsuit filed against the Manchester Veterans Administration Medical Center in New Hampshire in May of 2019 following complaints it received through the foundation. The lawsuit was filed against the hospital for including a Bible on its POW-MIA table.
According to Weinstein, the mission of the MRFF is not to eradicate Bibles from the armed forces, but rather to foster religious diversity among people of different religious backgrounds.
Including a Bible, he says, would alienate military members from other cultural or religious groups.
"No religious text, not just the Bible, has a place in that display," he claimed.
