David Hubner's letter to President Bush and Air Force officials regarding religious diversity

February 23, 2006

To: George W. Bush, President of the United States
Michael W. Wynne, Secretary of the Air Force
Maj. Gen. Charles C. Baldwin, USAF Chief of Chaplains

From: The Rev. David P. Hubner

Re: "Revised Interim Guidelines Concerning Free Exercise of Religion in the Air Force"

As a minister and US Navy veteran, and acting in my role as Official Endorser and Director of Ministry & Professional Leadership for the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations, I am called to express my disappointment in the "Revised Interim Guidelines Concerning Free Exercise of Religion in the Air Force." The guidelines, a revision of those first issued in August of 2005 in response to repeated allegations of aggressive proselytizing by evangelical Christians at the Air Force Academy, will not fully protect the religious freedoms of all Air Force personnel. Instead, the new guidelines published on February 9, 2006, focus heavily on the rights of chaplains and superiors to personal religious expression at the expense of the rights of airmen, cadets, and employees of minority faiths as well as non-religious personnel. While it is important that all airmen and women be free to express their own convictions, it is also essential that they respect and honor the broad diversity of religious beliefs held by Air Force personnel.

The February 9 th statement is troubling for two main reasons. First, it drops the injunction from the initial version that chaplains "…are commissioned to provide ministry to those of their own faiths, to facilitate ministry to those of other faiths, and to provide care for all service members, including those who claim no religious faith." Second, while the new guidelines clearly state that they are not intended to restrict personal religious conversations that "can be reasonably free of potential for, or appearance of, coercion," there is no acknowledgement that the "personal" beliefs expressed by individual superiors may be difficult to distinguish from "official" USAF positions, and may very well be perceived as coercive by cadets and junior personnel who hold differing beliefs.

In order to ensure that our military fully exemplifies the unity in diversity that is the special heritage of this nation, I urge the USAF to reconsider these guidelines, and to make every effort to honor the constitutional right to religious freedom for all of the patriotic men and women serving our country.

Sincerely,

The Rev. David P. Hubner
Official Endorser
Director of Ministry and Professional Leadership
Unitarian Universalist Association
25 Beacon Street, Boston, MA 02108
Phone: 617-948-6407;
Fax: 617-742-2875
DHubner@uua.org

Assistant to the Director
A'Llyn Ettien
Phone: 617-948-6406
AEttien@uua.org

Unitarian Universalist Association
25 Beacon St. | Boston, MA 02108 | 617-742-2100