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Christian soldiers? Religious freedom in the military

"What is going on in the U.S. military right now, in effect, is people with religious Geiger counters holding them up to you, trying to determine if you are 'unchurched' enough for them to evangelize you. . . .Our constitutional framers were so careful to keep religion out of the function of the state that they put it in Clause 3, Article 6. . . .They said that we would never have a test for religion for any position in the federal government. Right now, we have overwhelming evidence that tests for religion are happening all the time." —Michael L. Weinstein, author of With God on Our Side: One Man’s War Against an Evangelical Coup in America’s Military

Briefly noted

For decades, the Akron City Council opened its weekly meetings with the Lord’s Prayer. Council president Marco Sommerville said the practice “goes way, way back.” Recitation of the prayer was most likely meant to show citizens of the Ohio city that council members looked for outside guidance, he said. But after Americans United for Separation of Church and State threatened litigation, council members decided October 15 to instead pray privately before meetings. They’re also working on finding a nonsectarian prayer to replace the Christian prayer.