An investigation at the Air Force Academy has found that cadets have been subjected to inappropriate professions of faith by instructors or senior officers. However, the investigation stopped short of finding any overt religious discrimination.
Lieutenant General Roger Brady, the author of the investigative report said, 'I have no reason to believe that people who are doing things that I think were inappropriate were doing so maliciously,' Brady said. 'In fact, I think they thought they had the best intentions toward the cadets. I think in some cases, they were wrong.'
According to many cadets, evangelical Christian cadets, faculty and staff members had improperly proselytized and harassed other cadets who were not born again Christians.
The report concluded that 'The root of this problem is not overt religious discrimination, but a failure to fully accommodate all members' needs and a lack of awareness over where the line is drawn between permissible and impermissible expression of beliefs.'
Seven cases were referred to senior officers for possible disciplinary action although Brady refused to specify what they were about.
Brady found that some cadets 'feel it's their duty to profess their faith,' but he said that such professions from instructors or senior officers 'can be construed easily as coercive' by cadets who don't share those beliefs. 'They are being made aware that there is a setting where that was inappropriate,' he said.
In addition, the investigation found that the religious needs of minorities were not being met adequately at the Air Force Academy. The report concluded that this 'placed the burden for seeking religious accommodation on the cadets.'
Acting Secretary of the Air Force Michael Dominguez acknowledged the problem. 'We may not have been sufficiently aware of their unique needs and the need to think about them before we did things like schedule a military training event in the middle of Passover,' he said.
Brady concluded 'we need to provide that in a developmental setting that helps them do that in a way that also incorporates the values of respect for diversity.'
