5 judges decide: Does Marine have religious freedom?

Lance Cpl. Monifa Sterling

Five military judges heard oral arguments Wednesday in the appeal of a U.S. Marine punished through a court-martial for refusing to remove Bible verses from her workstation, and a retired general says the case could determine whether there really is religious freedom in the U.S. military.

Lance Cpl. Monifa Sterling lost her original court case, as the court ruled the Religious Freedom Restoration Act did not apply to the the type of religious expression she was displaying and did not protect her from punishment for refusing to remove the verses.

A decision is expected this summer.

Retired U.S. Army Lt. Gen. William “Jerry” Boykin was in the United State Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces for Wednesday’s oral arguments before the five-judge panel. Boykin told WND and Radio America it’s likely to be a 3-2 decision.

“Two of them were supporting the actions of the Marine Corps,” Boykin said. “Two of them were supporting the defendant, Monifa Sterling. The chief judge held his cards very close to his chest. We came out thinking the decisive vote will be the chief judge.”

However the court rules, Boykin said the decision will reverberate throughout the military.

“If they uphold her appeal and she is exonerated on this, it’s a strong, strong message to all of the military that you must protect the religious rights of service members,” Boykin explained. “On the other hand, if it is upheld and her special court-martial stands, I think it portends the situation in the military with regard to religious freedom is going to decline.”

In recent weeks, the military has shown a tendency to accommodate religious freedom. The U.S. Army is now permitting hijabs and turbans to be worn by service members. Boykin said that ruling shows the punishment aimed at Sterling indicates selective application of religious freedom rights.

“I think it’s selective,” he said. “I think if she had been anything other than a Christian, this would have been one of those situations in which political correctness would have been the dominant factor. Because she’s a Christian, I think they feel very comfortable infringing on her First Amendment rights.”

Listen to the WND/Radio America interview with retired U.S. Army Lt. Gen William “Jerry” Boykin:

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He points out service members do give up a few rights when joining the military, like the right to publicly identify with political candidates or publicly criticize the commander in chief. But he said the Bill of Rights is fully intact for everyone in uniform.

“What it does not require you to do is sacrifice your First Amendment right to the freedom of religion,” Boykin said. “You are supposed to be able to exercise your religion. That’s the most fundamental of all our rights. Remember, that’s the first freedom articulated in the First Amendment. That is not to be sacrificed as a member of our military.”

Boykin believes Sterling should never have been ordered to remove the verses, but he is mystified at how intense the punishment was when she refused to take them down.

“I had 36 years in the Army. I’ve seen it all. I have never seen anybody go to a bad conduct special court martial for something like this. Normally, you handle this with non-judicial punishment,” he said, noting typical penalties would have included docked pay or some time restricted to barracks.

He said the Marine Corps dropped the hammer for a bigger purpose.

“Frankly, I think the leaders in the Marine Corps, certainly those who were dealing with her situation, were trying to send a message to the other Marines,” Boykin said.

While noting the refusal of military leaders to stand up for religious freedom for several years, Boykin said he didn’t see this case coming.

“Actually, it did surprise me from the Corps,” he said. “The Corps is our smallest branch but, as I think we all know, the Corps has historically maintained some rock-solid leadership, leaders who were willing to stand up and leaders who have shown a lot of moral courage.”

Boykin said military leaders in all branches are forgetting where their true loyalty belongs.

“What’s happened to all our military?” he asked. “What’s happened to the leadership of our military, and why are they so willing to compromise on such fundamental things? Remember this: Every member of the military takes an oath to the Constitution, not to the president. They take an oath to the Constitution.”

So why won’t military leaders stand up for religious freedom?

“America is becoming a Marxist nation,” Boykin said. “I say that and get criticized, but how many people are supporting Bernie Sanders? What’s the enthusiasm level for Bernie Sanders? America is becoming a Marxist nation.”

He added, “Karl Marx said, ‘My objective is to dethrone God and destroy capitalism.’ He also said religion is the opiate of the masses. You cannot move through the socialist pathway to full Marxism unless you destroy this idea of unalienable rights, rights that come from God. You do that by destroying people’s ability to openly worship their God.”

Boykin said the far left knows engineering that change first in the military is the key to eradicating it from the public as a whole.

“You’ve got to change the military, or you can’t change society,” Boykin said. “That’s what this administration is all about.”

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