US Army Survey: Atheists Unfit to Serve?

[Ian David]

US Army Survey: Atheists Unfit to Serve?

Sergeant Justin Griffith recently took a mandatory US Army survey called the Soldier Fitness Tracker (SFT), which was apparently meant to judge each soldier’s level of emotional, social, family, and spiritual fitness and recommend ways to improve those levels. Can you guess which level was the lowest for Griffith, who happens to be an atheist?

According to the SFT, here’s Griffith’s problem area:

Spiritual fitness is an area of possible difficulty for you. You may lack a sense of meaning and purpose in your life. At times, it is hard for you to make sense of what is happening to you and others around you. You may not feel connected to something larger than yourself. You may question your beliefs, principles, and values. Nevertheless, who you are and what you do matter. There are things to do to provide more meaning and purpose in your life. Improving your spiritual fitness should be an important goal. Change is possible, and the relevant self-development training modules will be helpful. If you need further help, please do not hesitate to seek out help from the people you care about and trust – strong people always do. Be patient in your development as it will take time to improve in this area. Still, persistence is key and you will improve here if you make this area a priority.

Apparently Griffith went wrong when he answered pragmatically when asked to indicate how much he agreed with phrases like “My life will have a lasting meaning.” First of all, “lasting” is a bit vague, no? Second of all, even many theists should understand that in the grand scheme of things, most likely no one will know their names a few generations from now. Griffith gave it 2 out of 5.

More worrying is the next statement Griffith says he had to judge: “I feel connected to a being that is greater than me.” Sure, there are atheists out there who could buy into a Dirk Gently-esque Interconnectedness of All Things, but even that wouldn’t really count as a “being,” would it? No, “being” implies a singular persona, and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with not feeling a connection to such a thing.

More:
http://skepchick.org/blog/2010/12/us-army-survey-atheists-unfit-to-serve/

[sakabatou]

1. This is just sad...

[and-justice-for-all]

2. I do not need delusional nonsense and invisible friends

to have meaning and purpose in my life.

[backscatter712]

3. In order to be one of our nation's killing machines, you must be spiritual! n/t

[ZombieHorde]

4. I wish I could rec this. nt

[MrModerate]

5. Bloody hell! My tax dollars paying for the "spirituality" of members of the military?

What bovine crap. I'm OK with service members personally having "spiritual" beliefs, even if I consider it utter claptrap. I'm OK with it because the bell curve of humanity is so broad there's room for just about any silly belief without rendering you useless.

But evaluating fitness based on presence or absence of spirituality? They might as well sacrifice a goat or feel the bumps on his head.

Disgusting, stupid, wasteful, and embarrassing.

Now I remember why I tell people I'm Canadian when traveling.

[amyrose2712]

6. Oye! nt

[awoke_in_2003]

7. religion has permeated...

or society so much in the last 30 years- it is like we are proudly marching toward the dark ages.

[Deep13]

8. U.S. Const. Art. VI prohibits religious tests for positions of public trust. nt