Debate over religion in military cordial

The battle over religion’s place in the military took a strangely cordial turn Tuesday at the Air Force Academy.

“We may have to see a movie together,” Mikey Weinstein told Jay Sekulow toward the end of the debate. “It won’t be ‘The Passion of the Christ,’ I can tell you that.”

Weinstein, an Air Force Academy graduate who’s led a two-year crusade against alleged proselytizing at the academy, squared off against Sekulow, an attorney who defends religious freedoms. They hold opposing views on what constitutes unwanted religious influence in the military — a fight that Weinstein says is a “war.”

“If we could increase 1,000-fold the level of trust on both sides, we’d then be qualified to be called two ships passing in the night,” Weinstein said before the debate. “Right now, we are two starships in different space-time continuums at opposite ends of the universe.”

The issues have become so vitriolic that Weinstein, who filed an unsuccessful lawsuit against the Air Force in 2005, says he receives several death threats a week, and he asked the academy to increase security in advance of the debate.

Metal detectors were in front of the doors at the academy’s Arnold Hall, and bombsniffing dogs roamed the aisles before the debate began.

But Weinstein and Sekulow were almost chummy during the debate, held before a small, respectful audience.

Sekulow said it’s clearly unlawful for military supervisors to coerce subordinates into going to Bible studies or participate in evangelizing. In an interview before the debate, Sekulow said the argument over religion’s place in the military is a difficult, “line-drawing” issue.

“I normally wouldn’t come across the country to speak at a university,” said Sekulow, who works in Washington, D.C.

“But this is an important issue, and what happens at the Air Force Academy may well affect the rest of the military, and that’s why we’re here.”

Rarely did the conversation dwell on the alleged proselytizing at the academy. Rather, differences focused on more general themes, about what constitutes a legal expression of faith and what might represent unwanted proselytizing.

For instance, the two differed over whether a Jew in the military should be able to openly wear a yarmulke while on duty. Sekulow, a Christian, said he should. Weinstein, who’s Jewish, said no.

Sekulow welcomed the opportunity to start the dialogue. Weinstein believes, however, the real fight lies ahead.

“Let’s get real,” he said before the event. “It’s not really a debate. The debate will be in federal court.”

CONTACT THE WRITER: 636-0367 or paul.asay@gazette.com