US Navy Officers
Navy Exchange Service Command insiders have announced that the U.S. Navy had reversed its original policy to remove Bibles from areas such as lodges and guest rooms and other military quarters. They noted that they will be reviewing the decision they had initially made following complaints from an atheist organization.
Navy Times reported that the reversal happened on Thursday. Lt. Chika Onyekanne, a Navy spokesman said in a statement, "That decision and our religious accommodation policies with regard to the placement of religious materials are under review. While that review is underway, religious materials removed from the Navy Lodge rooms will be returned." The decision however was met with more complaints from the group that had originally complained about the presence of the Bible in military quarters.
"A Bible in a hotel room is no more illegal than a chaplain in the military. They are there for those who want them," Chaplain Col. Ron Crews, USAR retired, executive director of Chaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty said in a statement earlier this week. The Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) however was not at all pleased with the Navy's eventual decision.
FFRF had initially filed complaints to the Navy stating that the presence of the Bible within guest rooms implied a government endorsement of the text and requested that all religiously affiliated items be removed from the Navy Lodge. The Bibles were placed there by Gideons International, a ministry that focuses on giving out free Bibles to the public in diverse settings.
Now retired Chaplain Col. Ron Crews however stated earlier this week that there is essentially nothing wrong with having Bibles in the guest rooms. "There is nothing wrong with allowing the Gideons to place Bibles in Navy lodges, which it has done for decades at no cost to the Navy. Our service men and women are often away from home, sometimes for long periods of time. It's perfectly constitutional and legal to allow the Gideons to provide, at their own expense, this source of comfort for service men and women of faith." he said.
In its most recent statement NEXCOM clarified that in the past managers were allowed to place Bibles in rooms free of charge, but now all requests to deliver religious materials to guests must go through the chaplain's office.
