Of course this item in the complaint must be groundless. The act of administering the Eucharist is considered -- even intentionally -- to be an "evangelistic" act by many theological groups (especially Eastern Orthodoxy). That sacrament is an entry and window into the life of God, and it is the belief and hope of many that the participants of the act will deepen their faith (or join in faith) because of the act. The First Amendment cannot prohibit such theological belief and action.
-----Original Message----- From: Gordon James Klingenschmitt To: Law & Religion issues for Law Academics Sent: 10/14/2005 9:59 PM Subject: Re: Anti-proselytizing lawsuit against the US Air Force I'm speechless. No pun intended. Chaplain Klingenschmitt "Volokh, Eugene" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: I just got a copy of the Complaint in this lawsuit (Weinstein v. U.S. Air Force), and here's the claim for relief: 26. Plaintiff is entitled to the permanent injunctive relief that the USAF, Defendant Geren and its senior leadership adopt and adhere to the following policies: a. No member of the USAF, including a chaplain, is permitted to evangelize, proselytize, or in any related way attempt to involuntarily convert, pressure, exhort or persuade a fellow member of the USAF to accept their own religious beliefs while on duty. b. The USAF is not permitted to establish or advance any one religion over another religion or one religion over no religion. Could paragraph (a) possibly be a legitimate demand? Could it really be that the First Amendment bars individual USAF members from trying to "involuntarily . . . persuade" fel! low servicemembers -- not just subordinates, but also peers -- "to accept their own religious beliefs," even "while on duty"? Eugene _______________________________________________ _____ Yahoo! Music Unlimited - Access over 1 million songs. Try it free. <http://pa.yahoo.com/*http://us.rd.yahoo.com/evt=36035/*http://music.yah oo.com/unlimited/> <<ATT632193.txt>> _______________________________________________ To post, send message to Religionlaw@lists.ucla.edu To subscribe, unsubscribe, change options, or get password, see http://lists.ucla.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/religionlaw Please note that messages sent to this large list cannot be viewed as private. Anyone can subscribe to the list and read messages that are posted; people can read the Web archives; and list members can (rightly or wrongly) forward the messages to others.
