The United States military is increasingly hostile to Christians and stands to lose top men and women recruits as a result, says Michael Berry, senior counsel and director of military affairs at The Liberty Institute.
"A lot of it has to do with the perceived environment of political correctness that has run amok in our military and within our federal government as a whole," Berry said Wednesday on "The Steve Malzberg Show" on
Newsmax TV.
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"Many of the young people in this country who desire to serve in the military … do so out of a love of nation and out of patriotism … More often than not it comes out of somebody's faith.
"And when we have this environment of political correctness and specifically when there is now what many perceive as a hostile work environment to people of faith, they're going to start looking elsewhere for places to serve."
And it does them, as well as the nation, a great disservice, according to Berry.
"It places us in greater risk when these future great leaders, great officers, great enlisted men and women of our armed forces are now deciding to turn away from the military. That puts us in danger," he said.
Berry pointed to the case of Joe Lawhorn, an Army chaplain and former Army Ranger.
"During suicide prevention training … [he] was simply trying to offer some lifesaving messages of hope. He offered secular resources, counseling services … [and] some resources from his own faith," Berry said.
"As a former Army Ranger, he experienced some depression … and some of the things that helped him were to meditate on the scripture, to really rely on his faith to get him through those dark times, and he wanted people to have an alternative.
"Somebody in the audience who was an atheist complained … and instead of the commanding officer saying, look, let's allow there to be a diversity of ideas … he came down against Chaplain Lawhorn and threatened to punish him and end his career as a result of it."