ICC Note: In the midst of the controversy surrounding the Department of Veterans Affairs, Christian veterans are also facing the threat of religious discrimination. In a VA facility, the hospital chapel was required to relocate various religious icons – including a statue of Jesus, a statue of Mary, a cross and an altar – behind a curtain. The National Chaplain Center determined that these symbols did not meet government regulations for religious neutrality and were placed behind a hospital curtain.
By Todd Starnes
06/4/2014 United States (Charisma News) – I may have figured out why the Department of Veterans Affairs had such difficulty finding time to treat patients. It’s because it was working overtime to give its chapels a religiously neutral makeover.
But as VA officials in Iron Mountain, Michigan, learned, one man’s renovation is another man’s desecration.
Some folks in Iron Mountain became infuriated earlier this month when they discovered that statues of Jesus and Mary, along with a cross and altar, were hidden behind a curtain in the chapel of the VA hospital there.
The chapel still has stained glass windows, though for how long is unclear. A VA hospital spokesman told me they are still trying to figure out what to do with the windows.
The decision to hide the religious icons came after the National Chaplain Center conducted an on-site inspection and determined the hospital’s chapel was not in compliance with government regulations.
Richard Riley, pastor of Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church, said he was “exceedingly disappointed” by the move.
He posted photographs of the hidden religious icons on the church’s Facebook page.
“We are not a politicizing kind of church,” Pastor Riley told me. “But we also believe Christians have constitutional rights. We have a right to voice our opinion. Just because you are a Christian doesn’t mean you lose your First Amendment rights.”
Riley said the decision to turn the formerly Christian chapel into a religiously neutral room is evidence of a bigger problem.
“Christianity, not only globally, but particularly in the United States, is really under attack,” he said.
“Christianity is coming under some horrendous conflict from the media and to some degree from our own government.”
The situation in Michigan is not unique. In April something similar took place at Fort Meade Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Fort Meade, South Dakota. There was concern over a makeover to the facility’s chapel.
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