Letter: Quit imposing non-religious rules on others

Published 9:58 am Sunday, December 19, 2021

Thanks to Joe Biden and his administration, our service men and women are now forbidden to have a Bible verse engraved on their dog tags.

A complaint to the Department of Defense by the Military Religious Freedom Foundation said such tags “poisons the constitutionally-mandated separation of Church and State.” DOD responded by issuing a cease and desist letter, reversing its practice of over 22 years, in spite of the fact that the company, Shields of Strength, has provided these patriotic, faith based tags to over 4 million military members who voluntarily requested them.

This woke, unconstitutional decision should make all Americans, Christians or not, raise their voices in disgust. Obviously the MRFF doesn’t know the phrase “separation of church and state” isn’t even found in the Constitution, but it’s in a private letter Thomas Jefferson wrote to a Baptist Church. Obviously they do not know that the First Amendment, which provides freedom of religion, not freedom from religion, is not to protect the state from the church but the church from the state. Religious beliefs are not to be dictated by the state. This is one of the very reasons the Pilgrims and Puritans came to the new world.

If our men and women in uniform desire a scripture on their dog tags, they have the constitutional right to do so. Anyone who objects to a Bible verse that strengthens and comforts those willing to die for our country needs to mind their own business. The MRFF also needs to take a history class and civics lesson since they have twisted the truth of our founding documents. Let them follow their non-religious rules, but quit imposing their beliefs on others. In America, we are free to make our own decision. At least we used to be. With the current ruling class, who knows what else believers will soon be told by the government we can no longer do.

— Renee Scheidt

Salisbury