The fight for religious liberty for our servicemen and women in the military has been in the news recently.
One of the promises made by President Trump during his campaign was to promote and uphold the right to freedom of religion and religious expression, particularly for Christians who have come under fire from left-wing groups.
And a recent case of targeting against Christians in the military has made this campaign promise more important than ever.
In 2013, Lance Corporal Monifa Sterling found herself the target of Christian persecution when she put a Bible verse on her work desk at Camp Lejeune.
Her superior officer originally asked that she remove the verse, “No weapon formed against you shall prosper,” from the Book of Isaiah, but she refused, citing her right to religious liberty.
Thinking nothing further would come of it, Sterling was shocked to find herself facing court-martial for refusing to obey orders — especially since her superior had been the one to commit a violation by throwing the Bible verse away.
And to make matters worse, the military court convicted Sterling.
LifeSite News reported:
Sterling was taken to military court and convicted in 2014 for refusing to obey orders.
Sterling’s rank was reduced to Private and she was given a “bad conduct” discharge, which has since made it hard to find a job.
The military considered her Bible verse “contrary to good order and discipline.” The Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals and the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces upheld Sterling’s conviction.
The court further ruled that because others shared Sterling’s desk, the Bible verse was a threat to good order. “It is not hard to imagine the divisive impact to good order and discipline that may result when a service member is compelled to work at a government desk festooned with religious quotations,” it said.
Her attorney pointed out that other Marines were allowed to decorate their desks, but that fact was not allowed to be admitted in court. Berry added that at the time of the incident, Sterling’s desk was not used by anyone else.
Now, even three years later, Sterling continues to fight the case as an example to Christians everywhere in their right to practice their faith.
She is fighting conviction on six charges, most of which pertain to each time Sterling reposted her Bible verse at her desk following her supervisor tearing it down.
First Liberty, an organization committed to protecting the religious liberty of military personnel says the ruling was unconstitutional, and they are preparing to take the case to the U.S. Supreme Court.
TheWashington Times reported:
Kelly Shackelford, president of the First Liberty Institute, which represents Ms. Sterling, called the ruling “absolutely outrageous.”
“A few judges decided they could strip a Marine of her constitutional rights just because they didn’t think her beliefs were important enough to be protected,” Mr. Shackelford said in a statement. “If they can court-martial a Marine over a Bible verse, what’s to stop them from punishing service members for reading the Bible, talking about their faith, or praying?”
“This is shameful, it’s wrong, and it sets a terrible precedent, jeopardizing the constitutional rights of every single man and woman in military service,” Shackelford continued. “This cannot be allowed to stand.”
“Ms. Sterling posted the Bible verse as an expression of her faith – an expression which should have been protected by RFRA,” attorney Michael Berry said. “Our Marines give up many freedoms when serving, but religious freedom is never one of them. The First Amendment, RFRA, and military code all protect service members’ right to express their faith freely.”
The Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) of 1993 allows men and women in uniform to exercise their faith freely. But the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces determined that religious freedom did not apply, ruling that to strip her scripture verse away posed no “real burden” in her exercise of faith because displaying a Bible verse is not a religious exercise.
This case is not only crucial to protecting the religious liberties of all military personnel, but Monifa Sterling has also proven herself a role model for women.
She dutifully served her country during a time when women in the military are sometimes still looked down upon by their male colleagues.
She also refuses to back down on her religious convictions, and at a time when traditional values are continually under attack by the left, she is an example for all Christian women.
Under former-President Obama, these kinds of politically correct and secularized actions became commonplace.
Several Christians in businesses and the workplace have come under fire by liberal activists. It is only by standing strong and fighting the liberal agenda that traditional values will be preserved.