ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (ABP) — A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit against the Air Force that claimed the branch's top training academy violated the Constitution by promoting evangelical Christian beliefs among cadets.
On Oct. 27, U.S. District Judge James Parker of New Mexico dismissed the lawsuit, which a group of graduates had brought against the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo.
Parker dismissed the case on technical and substantive grounds, saying the plaintiffs had no standing to file the lawsuit and they did not present sufficient evidence that the cadets' rights were violated.
Mikey Weinstein, one of the graduates who filed the suit in an Albuquerque federal court, issued a statement vowing to appeal the decision. “While we respect Judge Parker's ruling, we are deeply disappointed that our efforts have been delayed to protect the rights of the brave and honorable men and women serving in our nation's armed forces,” Weinstein said.
Weinstein was among the most outspoken of a group of Air Force Academy alumni, employees and parents who in 2005 began publicly critiquing the religious environment at the school. The critics — and a report by the Washington-based Americans United for Separation of Church and State — said evangelical Christians were exerting undue influence over the lives of cadets at the government-run school.
The charges and publicity surrounding them led to a Pentagon investigation. Released in June, 2005, it concluded there was not a pervasive atmosphere of religious intolerance or harassment at the academy.
However, the report did note problems. As a result, the Air Force released a set of guidelines designed to help commanding officers and chaplains increase religious sensitivity.
Those guidelines proved controversial in Congress, with some conservative Republican members trying, unsuccessfully, to scuttle them with claims that they were anti-Christian.
-30-
Read more:
Congress kills conservatives' efforts to create right to sectarian prayers (10/3/06)
Revised Air Force religion guidelines continue ban on sectarian prayers (2/9/06)
Air Force names rabbi to 'values' post as controversy over religion grows (6/30/05)
Air Force Academy problems real but unintentional, report says (6/22/05)
House rejects measure aimed at Air Force Academy (6/21/05)
Panel to study religious discrimination at Air Force Academy (5/3/05)