The U.S. Air Force will no longer require that Bibles be put on its checklist of items in lodging facilities on its bases.
The move comes in response to a complaint from the
Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers that the presence of
the Bibles was "special privilege for Christianity."
The books are placed in Air Force rooms by Gideons at no cost to the government.
The MAAF said their goal is to fight "insensitive
practices that illegally promote religion over non-religion within the
military or unethically discriminate against minority religions or
differing beliefs."
The Blaze reports that after a legal
review, Air Force officials ruled there is no requirement to have Bibles
in the lodging checklist. They added that there were no plans yet to
remove the books from Air Force Inns.
"We continue to review the situation and weigh our
multiple First Amendment responsibilities and obligations," Air Force
Personnel Center spokesman Mike Dickerson said in an email.
Bible supporters say Air Force officials are bowing to political pressure to create a "religion-free" zone.
"They're removing (them) from the checklists, (the
result being that) whoever cleans the rooms is no longer required to
check whether the Bible is in place," Dr. Gordon Klingenschmitt, a
former Navy chaplain, told The Blaze.
"So if somebody steals one of those Bibles or if
they're confiscated by atheist complainers or put in the trash, then
sadly Christian people will not have access to read the Bible at night,"
he said.
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