WASHINGTON — The Pentagon recently reversed its policy of granting religious groups like the Gideons International preferential access to provide literature to new recruits.
A new regulation distributed in November says nonfederal entities can continue to receive permission to place secular or religious literature at 65 Military Entrance Processing Stations (MEPS) around the country, but faith-based and secular organizations must be treated alike.
The policy change followed an investigation by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) into a complaint by a recruit in Louisville, Ky., about being approached by a representative of the Gideons, a 100-year-old organization best known for placing Bibles in hotel rooms.
The ACLU said it found evangelizing activities at up to 10 other processing centers, such as handing out religious tracts during their processing as if it were part of official military procedure and distributing New Testaments with khaki covers that suggested it was a military publication.
The new rule recognizes the importance of accommodating the religious beliefs of military personnel but says the government must avoid any appearance of establishing religion. Literature at processing centers must not “create the reasonable impression that the government is sponsoring, endorsing or inhibiting religion generally, or favoring or disfavoring a particular religion.”
“Under no circumstances” is a member of any nonfederal entity “permitted to proselytize, preach or provide spiritual counseling to, or otherwise communicate information of a religious nature” to applicants or federal personnel while on an MEPS site.
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