The Army has pulled a job posting at an Illinois religious college that required leaders of its ROTC program to be Christians.
The Military Religious Freedom Foundation, a watchdog group, flagged the posting at Wheaton College in a Nov. 6 letter to Army Secretary John McHugh, who subsequently announced the service "removed all university preferences from our assignment postings,"
Army Times reports.
The watchdog group's president, Mikey Weinstein, had called the Christians-only provision "constitutionally noxious" and "an abhorrent nightmare," Army Times reports.
Weinstein said an active-duty officer brought the job posting to the watchdog group's attention.
"We thought it was a joke, at first," Weinstein said in November, Army Times reports.
But an Army spokesman wouldn't comment on whether the group's complaint triggered the removal.
"The Army is currently reviewing the … assignment policy," Lt. Col. Ben Garrett told Army Times in an emailed statement. "The Army remains committed to assigning officers to meet the needs of the Army, in accordance with all applicable equal opportunity policies and statutes."
Christianity Today reports the Army review will examine policies at the 275 colleges that host ROTC programs, including Wheaton. Many Catholic schools also directly host ROTC programs.
According to
a Fox News report, the Army stated its review is unrelated to legal threats from the Military Religious Freedom Foundation.