Ethics Newsline®

COLORADO SPRINGS
A U.S. Defense Department task force spent three days last week at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, investigating allegations of heavy-handed Christian proselytizing by academy officers and cadets.

The investigation follows an academy-wide survey, an independent review, and mounting complaints that some evangelical Christians at the academy are pushing their views on cadets who subscribe to other belief systems.

Academy chaplain Capt. MeLinda Morton, who conducted a review of religious practices and criticized the academy for evangelizing, last week continued pushing for change, accusing officials of breaking down the constitutional wall separating church and state.

“It’s the Constitution, not just a nice rule we can follow or not follow,” Morton told the New York Times in an interview. “We all raised our hands and said we’d follow it, and that includes the First Amendment, that includes not using your power to advance your religious agenda.”

Press reports note that the academy, which is 90-percent Christian and nearly one-third evangelical, is based near Colorado Springs, home to many of the nation’s most powerful conservative Christian groups.

“There’s certainly an impression that evangelicals here have that the leadership is kind of on their side,” a staff member told the New York Times on condition of anonymity. “And there’s a feeling among people who are atheists or people who are other varieties of Christian that the leadership does not really accept them.”

Academy officials have said they are working on the problem and value the diversity of their campus population.

The task force’s report is due May 23, according to USA Today.