ICC Note:
Following a complaint filed by the Freedom from Religion Foundation (FFRF), the U.S. Navy Exchange Service Command (NEXCOM) has issued a directive that all Bibles be removed from all Navy guestrooms by September 1st of this year. The American Humanist Association (AHA) filed a similar complaint last week, demanding that a display of Gideon Bibles be removed from a Missouri National Guard lobby.
08/14/2014 United States (Christian News Network) – The U.S. Navy has directed that Bibles be removed from hotel rooms on naval bases following a complaint from a prominent atheist organization, reports state.
In March of this year, the Freedom from Religion Foundation (FFRF) sent a letter to the Navy Exchange Service Command (NEXCOM) advising that two unidentified service members contacted them to report that “every Navy lodging room they have stayed in during decades of service contained a Bible” but rarely other religious or non-religious books. The organization asserted that such practice is unconstitutional and shows favoritism toward Christianity.
“Providing Bibles to guests in Navy-run hotels amounts to a government endorsement of that religious text,” the letter stated. “Including Bibles sends the message to non-Christian and non-religious guests that they should read the Bible… Such a practice alienates non-Christian guests whose religious beliefs are inconsistent with the message being promoted by the Bibles, including the 20% of the U.S. population that is nonreligious.”
Following receipt of the letter, NEXCOM issued a directive—which has now just been made public—that Bibles currently in hotel rooms on naval bases must be removed by September 1st.
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