海角大神

When Blake Page announced this week that he was quitting West Point a few months before graduation, citing the overt religiosity on campus, he raised recurring questions about the pervasiveness and impact of evangelical 海角大神ity within the ranks of the US military.

鈥淚 do not wish to be in any way associated with an institution which willfully disregards the Constitution of the United States of America by enforcing policies which run counter to the same,鈥� Mr. Page wrote in his letter of resignation to the US Military Academy at West Point, in New York. 聽

He cites, among other things, routine prayers at mandatory events for cadets and the practice of awarding off-campus passes and credit to students who take part in religious retreats and chapel choirs.聽These activities, in turn, foster 鈥渙pen disrespect of non-religious new cadets,鈥� Page argued, adding that he had been told at West Point that it was not possible for people to have morals without believing in God.

This is not the first time such charges have been leveled within a military training academy. The US Air Force Academy came under similar criticism in 2005 for conferring preferential treatment on cadets who were evangelical 海角大神s and promoting proselytizing in the ranks.

A survey commissioned by the Air Force Academy in 2010 showed some improvements in the climate of religious tolerance on campus, but also found that many cadets still felt pressured to take part in religious activities. Nearly half of the non-海角大神 cadets surveyed, for example, said their fellow students have a 鈥渓ow tolerance鈥� for atheists, a 20 percent jump from a similar 2008 survey.

Charges of evangelism went international when the Pentagon came under fire in 2010 for using gun sights engraved with Bible verses, fueling concerns that the war in Afghanistan would be seen as a military crusade. Some Pentagon officials at first dismissed complaints against the gun sights, comparing them to US currency engraved with 鈥淚n God We Trust,鈥� but senior officers demanded that the military stop using them.

This came on the heels of reports that Air Force missileers were receiving Bible-centered ethics training, with the aim of helping them shake off lingering doubts about firing nuclear weapons. The training 鈥� which had been in place for almost two decades and was known jokingly among the airmen as 鈥淛esus loves nukes鈥� 鈥� was halted in 2011.

鈥淕od and country is a big part of the military culture,鈥� says Page in a phone interview with the Monitor. 鈥淎nytime we have a ceremony of any type, there鈥檚 always prayer.鈥�

During his time at West Point as the head of the Secular Student Alliance, Page helped to establish 鈥渘ontheist chapel time,鈥� an alternative for nonreligious cadets. 鈥淏efore [that, if you didn't go to chapel] you could either go back to your room or have cleaning detail,鈥� Blake recalls. 鈥淎 friend of mine was made to sing and dance and recite knowledge and do all sorts of embarrassing things while everyone else went to church.鈥澛�

West Point spokesman聽Francis DeMaro Jr. told CNN that Page's claim that prayer is mandatory is not true.聽"The academy holds both official and public ceremonies where an invocation and benediction may be conducted, but prayer is voluntary," he said.聽聽"As officers, cadets will be responsible for soldiers who represent America鈥檚 great diversity in faith and ethnic background."聽

Though Page says he occasionally felt targeted for his nonreligious views, he also reports that he came to admire many who went out of their way to understand his concerns. He recalls one professor, an evangelical 海角大神, who called him in for a talk. 鈥淗e genuinely asked me, 鈥榃ould you please explain to me where you get your morals if you don鈥檛 get them from God?鈥� 鈥�

This professor also asked Page how he could help to prevent a climate of religious intolerance. 鈥淗e has a moral character, and he really inspired me,鈥� Page says.

Mikey Weinstein,聽a graduate of the US Air Force Academy and head of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, calls Page the 鈥淩osa Parks鈥� of his generation. 鈥淏lake is in every way, shape, and form an American hero,鈥� he says, adding that 鈥渕andated religion has no place within the technologically most lethal creation of the US government.鈥�

Page, for his part, says he decided to go public with his resignation after learning that he would not receive a commission for the US military. Because of his struggle with depression, he received a medical waiver.

鈥淲hen I knew I couldn鈥檛 commission, I knew that there was something I could do. I had such limited time remaining in the system, I thought that by doing this I could get people to think about it as well,鈥� he says.

Since then, Page says, he has received 鈥渕any, many鈥� letters of support from faculty members and fellow cadets.聽

That said, many other cadets 鈥渞espected my decision but didn鈥檛 agree with my method,鈥� he says. The way he wrote his public letter, which he released to the Huffington Post, 鈥渨as very hostile and confrontational 鈥� I acknowledge that 鈥� but there鈥檚 no way to get attention in this country without being confrontational,鈥� he adds.

His next step is to finish his degree at a state university 鈥� he鈥檚 thinking Georgia or Minnesota. Then he plans to write a book about his experience at West Point, likely focusing on the culture among the corps of cadets.聽

鈥淭here are many other organizational problems at West Point that need to be addressed,鈥� Page says. 鈥淭he cadets know it, and talk about it all the time 鈥� but we鈥檙e addicted to tradition.鈥澛�