Religion News Service yesterday reported that Jay Sekulow, chief counsel of the American Center for Law and Justice, has obtained over 80,000 signatures on a petition asking President Bush to issue an executive order to allow chaplains to pray in public according to their religious beliefs. Sekulow said that currently chaplains feel "muzzled" because of developments including pending litigation and new Air Force guidelines. The Department of Defense tells chaplains to be cognizant of the pluralistic military environment. 74 members of Congress have also written the President on the issue, saying, "Praying in the name of Jesus is a fundamental part of Christian belief and to suppress this form of expression would be a violation of religious freedom." (See related prior posting.)
Rob Boston, spokesman for Americans United for Separation of Church and State said that Sekulow's petition drive is just "a fund-raising ploy". He said, "This is being portrayed as an attack on Christianity when, in fact, all we're really asking for is that the Air Force respect and accommodate all religious beliefs within its ranks and not extend preference to a group that happens to be the majority. " Sekulow, on the other hand, said, "I think it's one of the most significant issues of religious freedom in our country. You've got chaplains afraid to say 'in Jesus' name.' ... They're fighting for freedom abroad and this is a basic fundamental freedom here."
