Liberty Counsel has pledged to defend pro bono any member of the armed services who is charged under the Pentagon’s new “proselytizing” policy. In a statement released last week, President Obama’s Pentagon said, “Religious proselytization is not permitted within the Department of Defense. … Court-martials and nonjudicial punishments are decided on a case-by-case basis.”
“Making it a crime to share your faith is outrageous and morally unconscionable,” says Mat Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel. “There has never been an administration more committed to its secularist philosophy at the expense of religious liberty. Liberty Counsel will do whatever is necessary to defend the religious liberty of our men and women who defend our liberties in the armed services.
“It is beyond ironic that this administration chose to attack the religious liberties of the men and women who are charged with defending our nation’s freedom across the country and around the world,” Staver continues. “The military has a unique relationship with chaplains in order to meet the spiritual needs of our soldiers. To threaten court-martial to anyone who shares their faith is reprehensible and un-American. This absurd policy will undermine the military and destroy morale. It must be rescinded immediately, and those responsible for instituting it should be disciplined.”
