VA Lifts Ban on Bibles in Move to Support Religious Freedom

[MechAg94]

https://www.dailysignal.com/2019/08/26/va-lifts-ban-on-bibles-in-move-to-support-religious-freedom/amp/?__twitter_impression=true

The new guidelines call for “inclusion in appropriate circumstances of religious content in publicly accessible displays at VA facilities,” and allow “patients and their guests to request and be provided religious literature, symbols and sacred texts during visits to VA chapels and during their treatment at VA.”

The guidelines also allow the VA to accept donations of religious literature, cards, and symbols at its facilities, and to distribute them to VA patrons “under appropriate circumstances.”

The new guidelines, which went into effect last month, referred to the recent Supreme Court ruling allowing a cross-shaped memorial to World War I dead to continue standing on public land in Bladensburg, Maryland.

Wilkie said he doesn’t anticipate litigation over the policy because it is based on the recent Supreme Court ruling.   

“What Justice [Neil] Gorsuch said in the Maryland cross case was absolutely on target,” Wilkie said. “Because you might be offended doesn’t give you standing to stop other people from worshiping. For me, this is not only a military issue. It’s a religious liberty issue, and one that is vitally important to those we serve.”

That laws seems like common sense to me.  Sad that an SC ruling was needed.

[dogmush]

Wilkie said. “Because you might be offended doesn’t give you standing to stop other people from worshiping.

Where has this guy been living?  That's not how it works anymore.

[MillCreek]

Cue the Satanists to request placement of their literature at the VA.  Religious freedom is for everybody!

[Hawkmoon]

From the article:

“The VA’s actions undermine our Constitution, which intentionally establishes a secular government in order to preserve religious freedom, a right enjoyed by individuals,” Sam Grover, associate counsel for the Freedom From Religion Foundation, wrote in a letter to Wilkie objecting to the standards.

At the VA hospital I attend, the campus consists of something like 40 buildings and hundreds of thousands of square feet of floor space. Out of all that, there are two chapels on the campus, one on the third floor of Building 2 and one on the fourth floor of Building 2. The larger of them is maybe 20 feet x 30 feet, the smaller is probably about 12 feet x 15 feet. I was in the larger one just a couple of weeks ago -- I spend a few minutes in one or the other pretty much every time I'm at the hospital. There was some Roman Catholic literature in a rack near the door, but no Bibles, no hymnals, no Qurans, and nothing at all Hebrew in nature. There is an altar in each chapel, but I don't recall whether or not there is a cross on either altar. (I'll try to remember to pay attention the next time I'm there.)

Chapels, and chaplains, in government facilities have to serve a "clientele" that comes from a broad spectrum of religious backgrounds. Since the entire purpose of a chapel is worship, it should stand to reason that a chapel should provide whatever is required to support worship. In a VA hospital, a chapel might be called upon to house a Roman Catholic mass, a Protestant Christian service, a Jewish service, a Muslim service, and possibly a service or ceremony for/by some other religion ... all in the same chapel facility, and possibly even all in the same day.

IMHO, VA chapels should certainly allow, if not provide, the basics of what's needed for conducting services for the mainstream religions. That might get confusing -- for example, the Roman Catholic Bible is different from any of the Protestant Bibles. But ... pick one. The major books of the New Testament are in both. Not everyone needs to hold a Bible in their hands during a mass or a service, so have a few in a box or on a shelf near the door for those that need them. Same with the Quran. If a particular city or region has a high percentage of adherents of some other religion among its veterans and they want their religion to be represented in the chapel, their literature should be allowed in, and clergy from their religion should be allowed to conduct services in the VA chapel.

Freedom "of" religion doesn't mean freedom "from" religion. If atheists don't want to worship God or be troubled by seeing Bibles, they don't have to set foot in the chapel.

[Perd Hapley]

There have been some disturbing stories of military chaplains being hassled for doing, ya know, chaplainy things. Praying to Jesus. Saying Bibley-stuff. So this is encouraging.

It's almost comical the way anti-Americans try to have chaplains that aren't allowed to be chaplains, and chapels with no Bibles in them. Almost.

Cue the Satanists to request placement of their literature at the VA.  Religious freedom is for everybody!

I believe the Wiccans won the right to have Wiccan symbols on headstones in military cemeteries, so maybe.

[Hawkmoon]

I believe the Wiccans won the right to have Wiccan symbols on headstones in military cemeteries, so maybe.

Correct. Not only that, the VA will provide a grave marker with a Wiccan symbol for placement in private cemeteries.

https://www.cem.va.gov/cem/hmm/emblems.asp

Big change. My father was a WW2 veteran. When he died in 1983, we had a choice between a cross, and a star of David for his grave marker.

[dogmush]

There have been some disturbing stories of military chaplains being hassled for doing, ya know, chaplainy things. Praying to Jesus. Saying Bibley-stuff. So this is encouraging.

The stories I've seen were because Chaplains were making chaplainy things compulsory.  Like stopping and entire formation to pray. (Which I admit I find annoying, but it pales in fuckery when compared to so many other things the Army does as to not be worth complaining about.)

I actually had to have sharpish words with a Chaplain a couple years back, when he asked to have a service on the military vessel I was the commander of. I agreed, carved out time in the training schedule, scheduled time off for the crew, and told them they could attend or not as they wished.  I also had the crew work details to set up and tear down for his little shindig.  Then he came to me and said he really needed me to attend his service because, as the Commander, my presence sent a message.  Homie, If I had wanted to be there I would have been.

Were it my decision, I would say that the VA should set aside the space for a chapel, and if you want/need a Bible, Torah, Koran*, brazier of incense, skull of your enemy, or what not to worship, bring it your damn self.  But much like prayer in formation I find the marginal cost of providing some accouterments at a reasonable level to not be worth getting upset about. It certainly doesn't undermine our Constitution.

I see the original post says "sacred texts", which makes me wonder if the VA has updated their Site Protection plans to include risk of someone "mishandling" a Koran in one of their facilities and the inevitable peaceful fallout of such.


*side not to fuel the conspiracy theories, When I typed that sentence I didn't capitalize any of the book names.  Chrome caught Torah and Koran as misspelled but was perfectly ok with a lowercase Bible.  The google algorithmic bias goes deeper than I suspected.