Thursday Evening, September 8, 2022
MRFF CONDEMNS AIR FORCE ACADEMY'S
"SPIRITUAL FITNESS MONTH" —
A MONTH OF COMMAND-SPONSORED
RELIGIOUS PROSELYTIZING


In blatant violation of Air Force Instruction 1-1, which clearly and unambiguously states that “leaders at all levels ... must ensure their words and actions cannot reasonably be construed to be officially endorsing or disapproving of, or extending preferential treatment for any faith, belief, or absence of belief,” leadership
at the Air Force Academy designated the month of August as "Spiritual Fitness Month," which not only gave the perception of "endorsing" religion and "disapproving of" the non-religious, but subjected the non-religious to inescapable religious videos playing in the main academic building and promotions of
the month-long proselytizing-fest by Air Force chaplains
over general USAFA public address channels.

While the Air Force claims that "Spiritual Fitness" doesn't mean religion, everything about the Academy's "Spiritual Fitness Month" was undisguisedly religious, with nothing at all offered for the
non-religious cadets, or even for those of minority religions.
Line drawing of the Air Force Academy cadet chapel with the letters USAFA and the hashtag I am spiritual below
"Spiritual Fitness Month" graphic from the official Academy website features
the Cadet Chapel, further promoting religion as the only path to "spiritual fitness."
COLORADO SPRINGS INDY
COVERS MRFF

Air Force Academy's Spiritual Fitness Month
'crossed the line,' MRFF says

By: Helen Lewis

Thursday, September 8, 2022
MRFF summary of article:

The CS Indy covers MRFF's protestations of the Air Force Academy's "Spiritual Fitness Month," liberally quoting from the letter written by MRFF Advisory Board member and former Academy professor and department head Brig. Gen. Marty France (ret.) to Air Force Academy Superintendent Lt. Gen. Richard Clark.

From the article:

As France argues in MRFF’s Aug. 31 letter to Clark, “this reads to me (and many others) like a command endorsement for the idea that one must be religious to be fit for service — especially since it reads as though ALL of the activities surrounding this declared ‘month’ are chapel/chaplain related. From the press release: ‘Air Force Instruction 90-5001, Integrated Resilience, defines Spiritual Fitness as ‘the ability to adhere to beliefs, principles, or values needed to persevere and prevail in accomplishing missions.’ For those seeking support in developing their spiritual well-being, one needs to look no further than the Chaplain Corps. U.S. Air Force Academy Chaplains have declared August as ‘Spiritual Fitness Month to provide a spiritual boost for the new Academic Year.’

“Any two-minute videos out there from the non-religious perspective?” France’s letter continued, referring to a series of videos that were played in the public areas of Fairchild Hall for Spiritual Fitness Month. “Why is EVERYTHING (apparently) through the chaplains? Were there any retreats for non-religious cadets or were they all sponsored/led by chaplains? Was the Cadet Secular Alliance (Freethinkers) involved? I understand from my sources that they were not at all consulted this year. I spoke to over 100 of them in the class of 2026 during [Basic Cadet Training] one evening in July, so I know the demand must exist from the many ‘nones’ out there.” 
[...]
NOTE: If you encounter what looks like a paywall,
refresh the page to read article.
Some of MRFF's numerous past battles against religious oppression and Christian nationalism
at the U.S. Air Force Academy
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