Colorado Springs Air Force Replaces Christian Superintendent
The superintendent of the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo., will be replaced due to protest against religious intolerance.
The superintendent of the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo., will be replaced due to protest against religious intolerance.
On Aug. 30, President Bush nominated Lt. Gen. John F. Regni to replace Lt. Gen. John Rosa Jr. as superintendent of the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. There have been allegations against Rosa that evangelical Christians are imposing their religion on non-Christian students.
New guidelines were released on Aug. 29 regarding the advocacy of religion. The new guidelines discourage the promotion of a particular religion, public prayer at official events, and officers sharing about their personal religious beliefs.
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One visible change resulting from this controversy is coach Fisher DeBerry of Air Force Academy will cease his traditional pre-game team prayer. Instead, the prayer will be replaced by a moment of silence. This change adheres to the new guideline discouraging public prayer at official events.
“[Public prayer] should not usually be included in official settings such as staff meetings, office meetings, classes, or officially sanctioned activities such as sports events or practice sessions,” the new guidelines state.
The guidelines allows for nonsectarian prayer at official events, adding to the body of evidence that there is a movement of speaking about a general god, but resisting to identify a particular god. The emerging trend of speaking about a general god rather than a specific god is noticed by authors and theological professor such as Joseph Stowell, the author of “The Problem with Jesus” and the seventh president of Moody Bible Institute.
Organizations such as Military Chaplain’s Association declined to comment on the sensitive issue or are preparing a statement when contacted for their opinion on the situation.
