Religion in the military and the overthrow of American liberal democracy

So let me get this straight: Gays and lesbians -- loyal, honourable Americans willing to die for their country -- aren't allowed in the military, at least not openly. But evangelical Christians, for example, are now allowed to speak openly about their religious beliefs?

The Post reports: "The Air Force, under pressure from evangelical Christian groups and members of Congress, softened its guidelines on religious expression yesterday to emphasize that superior officers may discuss their faith with subordinates and that chaplains will not be required to offer nonsectarian prayers."

Yes, there is something to be said for the free religious expression. But this is the military. It isn't a marketplace of ideas, where different beliefs and opinions can be expressed openly and evaluated freely. It's an organization with a rigid hierarchy, a chain of command, orders to be obeyed, superiors and subordinates. Free religious expression works in a horizontal organization, but not necessarily in a vertical one, where subordinates may experience real or imagined pressure to conform to certain beliefs, to obey not just a superior's orders but his or her private religious beliefs.

One hopes that superior officers will be "sensitive" to the concerns of subordinates, but will that always be the case? What if free religious expression is perceived in some cases as insensitivity? Does the military need that? After all: "The guidelines were first issued in late August after allegations that evangelical Christian commanders, coaches and cadets at the Air Force Academy had pressured cadets of other faiths."

This is obviously a victory for groups like Focus on the Family, which pressured the military to amend the original guidelines. Can everyone see that the religious right is seeking to take over the country? Whether it's the Supreme Court or the Air Force, their dreams of theocracy, of the overthrow of American liberal democracy, are fast becoming reality.

(See also The Carpetbagger Report, Echidne of the Snakes, TalkLeft, and Alternate Brain.)