Lawyers for the American Humanist Association say that an atheist airman at Creech Air Force Base in Nevada was denied reenlistment in August because he refused to say “so help me God” in his oath.
The atheist group asserts that on Aug. 25 the unnamed airman crossed out the phrase on his contract and was subsequently rejected for reenlistment. A letter sent by the group to the inspectors general for the Air Force on Sept. 2 says that the AHA is willing to sue on behalf of the airman, Air Force Times reported.
“The government cannot compel a nonbeliever to take an oath that affirms the existence of a supreme being,” Monica Miller, an attorney with the AHA’s Apignani Humanist Legal Center said, the paper reported. “Numerous cases affirm that atheists have the right to omit theistic language from enlistment or reenlistment contracts.”
Questions about the constitutionality of the Air Force oath stem from a change to regulations in October. Airmen were previously allowed to omit the reference to God for personal reasons.
“Reciting ’So help me God’ in the reenlistment and commissioning oaths is a statutory requirement under Title 10 [U.S. Code] 502,” Air Force spokeswoman Rose Richeson said, the Times reported.
She added that Air Force Instruction (AFI) “is consistent with the language mandated in 10 USC 502. Paragraph 5.6 [and] was changed in October to reflect the aforementioned statutory requirement and airmen are no longer authorized to omit the words ’So help me God.’”
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While AHA says that such an oath constitutes an unconstitutional religious test for airmen, the Air Force says that it cannot change the statute without congressional action, the paper reported.
• Douglas Ernst can be reached at dernst@washingtontimes.com.
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