Army Says Atheists Unfit to Serve

[Sophus]

DADT is gone. Now we have to worry about the army considering atheists worthy as troops. They have these new "Spiritual Fitness" tests.

Earlier this week, a number of religious freedom activists, bloggers, and organizations were alerted by Sgt. Justin Griffith, a soldier at Fort Bragg, NC, to a mandatory U.S. Army survey called the "Soldier Fitness Tracker." One of the areas included in this survey, which measures a soldier's fitness in a number of areas, is "spiritual" fitness. According to his survey results, Sgt. Griffith is unfit to serve.

After taking the survey, and finding out that, as a non-believer, the Army considers him unfit to serve, Sgt. Griffith sent out an email to all the organizations and individuals involved in Rock Beyond Belief, and people sprang into action. MRFF has a prominent law firm on it, and several of the bloggers among the recipients of the email immediately posted about this jaw droppingly outrageous "religious test."

I doubt this will get the kind of publicity as DADT's repeal but hopefully it won't need it. Please go away quietly Spirituality Test.

[joeactor]

Huh.

Nope.

I don't get it.

You'd think people who hate atheists or gays would want them to go to war.

If I had to choose, I'd rather have an atheist with me in battle...

[Dretlin]

For America's sake I hope this is nipped in the bud quickly.

[LegendarySandwich]

Huh.

Nope.

I don't get it.

You'd think people who hate atheists or gays would want them to go to war.

If I had to choose, I'd rather have an atheist with me in battle...

But dem dangnabbit atheists and gays ain't fit to serve in the military!We need sum real 'Mericans to kill off those terrorists that are threatening the 'Merican way of life!

[Asmodean]

I wonder if terrorists have a spirituality check before they let you handle a belt with C4 in it...  

[The Magic Pudding]

There would be a few Vietnam conscripts who wouldn't have minded such an exemption.
Militarists probably don't want independent thinkers on the team, they might tell Wikileaks what's going on.

[Whitney]

I know it is bad but the first thought that crossed my mind is that now if they open the draft I won't have to worry about my husband having to go to war.

Still, it needs to be fixed due to the equal rights issues it creates.

[Asmodean]

Militarists probably don't want independent thinkers on the team, they might tell Wikileaks what's going on.

They are terrorists... I doubt they would manage to leak something the intelligence agencies do not already suspect. *Sides, if someone did leak, they'd just hafta' blow up the Internet. Problem solved, yes?  

[Stevil]

If I had to choose, I'd rather have an atheist with me in battle...

Why's that joe?

[Asmodean]

Why's that joe?

(Answering for me and myself alone. Subjective experience warning)

In general, atheists I've met tend to be smarter than the religious people by a fair margin. Smarts in modern warfare is no bad thing. Additionally, an atheist is more likely to value his life some more than someone who believes some deity will give him virgins or a place on a golden street or the like after death, potentially leading to fewer unnecessary risks taken.

'Sides... I'd like someone I knew to be (near-) completely sane with me in battle and I can't be sure of that with any fundamentalist type.

[Stevil]

Why's that joe?

(Answering for me and myself alone. Subjective experience warning)

In general, atheists I've met tend to be smarter than the religious people by a fair margin. Smarts in modern warfare is no bad thing. Additionally, an atheist is more likely to value his life some more than someone who believes some deity will give him virgins or a place on a golden street or the like after death, potentially leading to fewer unnecessary risks taken.

'Sides... I'd like someone I knew to be (near-) completely sane with me in battle and I can't be sure of that with any fundamentalist type.

OK, I disagree with your comment or assertions that atheists are smarter, I can understand your worries about a person's sanity although there might be as many insane atheists as there are insane theists, I don't know.

Personaly I don't think that I would be too concerned if the person next to me in battle believes in a god or not.
I view soldiers as simply pawns in a deadly game, unquestioned obedience is a desired attribute and theists have that in spades. However their devotion is to a god/s and their faith, what happens if orders conflict with that?
 
I would be interested in getting Joe's theist view. I assume he would think that a theist is at least the same sane if not more sane than an atheist.

[Asmodean]

OK, I disagree with your comment or assertions that atheists are smarter,

You forgot to add "in general". Otherwise, how can you disagree with a subjective experience limited to a group defined as "I've met" without having actually met that same sample group..?  

I can understand your worries about a person's sanity although there might be as many insane atheists as there are insane theists, I don't know.

What I am saying is that with an atheist, I can be far more certain of the person's mental state than with, for instance, a fundamentalist theist or a YEC

Personaly I don't think that I would be too concerned if the person next to me in battle believes in a god or not.

It's not the belief itself that worries me either. It's the effect said belief has on some people.

I view soldiers as simply pawns in a deadly game, unquestioned obedience is a desired attribute and theists have that in spades. However their devotion is to a god/s and their faith, what happens if orders conflict with that?

Indeed. Oh, and in event of war, I'd likely be a merc, so for me, blind obedience is an inferior trait to the capability of independent decision and action at need.

[Stevil]

OK, I disagree with your comment or assertions that atheists are smarter,

You forgot to add "in general". Otherwise, how can you disagree with a subjective experience limited to a group defined as "I've met" without having actually met that same sample group..?  

You were extrapolating your past experiences out with regards to how in general theists and atheists would perform in war, weren't you. I couldn't comment on the people you meet so was simply commenting on how the general theists and atheists might perform in war.

[LegendarySandwich]

...unquestioned obedience is a desired attribute and theists have that in spades.

^This

This is why I despise the military. It requires unquestioned and loyal obedience. Thinking for yourself is a bad thing. If you don't agree with what you're doing, well, too bad.

This may be why there are no atheists in foxholes. I think as a whole, theists are generally more likely to place more value on authority and following orders.

I hate unquestioned obedience. I even go so far to say that it's immoral (although that's just my opinion, 'course).

[joeactor]

If I had to choose, I'd rather have an atheist with me in battle...

Why's that joe?

1) I'd rather have someone actually doing something, rather than praying for something to happen.

2) It's possible that without any type of afterlife, the desire to survive may be stronger.

3) Time spent reading the bible could have been spent at target practice (ok, maybe)

Take it with a grain of salt, as it's just my random thoughts, with no real evidence behind it...