Skip to footer

Air Force allows atheists to skip oath to God

The US Air Force policy change comes after an atheist airman in Nevada struck out the words 'so help me God' on his Department of Defense reenlistment paperwork.

  • By Michelle Rindels Associated Press

| Las Vegas

U.S. airmen taking their enlistment or officer appointment oaths can omit the words "so help me God" if they choose, Air Force officials announced Wednesday.

The policy change comes after an atheist airman in Nevada struck out the words on his Department of Defense reenlistment paperwork and ran afoul of a policy that prohibits omissions. The case went up to the Department of Defense General Counsel, which issued an opinion saying the language could be left out if the airman preferred. All of the other military services have allowed the alternate language for years.

"We take any instance in which airmen report concerns regarding religious freedom seriously," Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James said in a statement. "We are making the appropriate adjustments to ensure our airmen's rights are protected."

The case involved a technical sergeant who initially enlisted in 2003, before he was an atheist, according to attorney Monica Miller of the American Humanist Association. But his views changed, and he crossed out the words "so help me God" when he filled out reenlistment paperwork recently.

"It was important from the standpoint of honesty," Miller said of her client, who she said wants to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation. "He can't take an oath for a God he doesn't believe in."

Military officials said the airman's unit was unable to process the documents because of the policy against omissions. Miller said he was told by his commanders Aug. 25 that he must swear to God or leave the service.

The humanist group sent letters to the Air Force threatening to sue if the airman couldn't re-enlist without saying "so help me God" by Sept. 19.

He was informed of the policy change Wednesday, Miller said, and is "feeling that his rights have really been vindicated."

The decision was applauded by Democratic Rep. Steven Horsford, whose congressional district includes Creech Air Force Base.

"We celebrate the diverse beliefs and views that members of the Air Force hold," he said in a statement. "Our freedoms are only truly valuable when we respect them in practice."

___

Associated Press writer Lolita C. Baldor contributed to this report from Washington.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.
What is the Monitor difference? Tackling the tough headlines – with humanity. Listening to sources – with respect. Seeing the story that others are missing by reporting what so often gets overlooked: the values that connect us. That’s Monitor reporting – news that changes how you see the world.
editor@csmonitor.com
Subscribe
Mark Sappenfield
Editor

Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”

If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

If you’re looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. You’ll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com.

Subscribe to insightful journalism

QR Code to Air Force allows atheists to skip oath to God
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Latest-News-Wires/2014/0918/Air-Force-allows-atheists-to-skip-oath-to-God
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe