Have you seen this? tl;dr: for a moment I thought intentions were good.

http://rockbeyondbelief.com/2010/12/22/mandatory-army-survey-says-atheists-are-unfit-to-be-soldiers/

http://rockbeyondbelief.com/2010/12/24/soldier-fitness-tracker-spiritual-questions-now-available/

http://www.maaf.info/resources/gatspirituality.jpg

Am I missing something? It asks if you're a "spiritual" person, I don't think it actually insinuates that you need to be a Christian. Many people feel "spiritual" about the earth and humanity and their connection with it. Think back to the family celebrating the solstice festival, they aren't Christian but they certainly feel like they are part of something with other humans and the earth. It simply shows they don't alienate themselves and they feel like their life is special and meaningful. I really think that this atheist was just being overly touchy and actually being the epitome of what they were trying to weed out in the first place. A person that didn't feel connected to other people and couldn't be part of a team, which he needs to be to be in the Army. The survey even suggested that he seek help in others, again reinforcing the purpose of the questions, to be able to believe in and depend on others. I don't think they were trying to weed out freethinkers here, I think they were looking for socially inept hermits who would probably harm the group as a whole before they helped it.

So here I am on my high horse thinking that this guy is over reacting and trying to find the meaning behind these questions and thinking to myself, surely the military isn't doing this. Until I read this: "Billy Graham Evangelical Associations, ‘Rock the Fort’ concert series came to Fort Bragg. It was allowed to convert several hundreds of soldiers on stage at a military base. At several bases, actually. It was their stated goal to convert as many soldiers, spouses and civilians as possible."

And then I went here: http://www.maaf.info/

And I found this: http://www.maaf.info/resources/CSF_Spirituality_Remediation.pdf IF you get low scores you can get help, its a list of suggestions for how to become more spiritual and to feel more connected. It seemed harmless, suggesting you listen to music or join the Army Band, write letters or poetry. But then it moves throughout the letters giving examples of excerpts from other military members thanking God and this leads into the suggestion that prayer be part of your rehabilitation. If you like, you can also visit the Chaplain.

The deeper I got and the more I read the more pissed off I got.

I try so hard to believe that people are good and that deep down intentions are good. Sadly, most of the time, they think the intentions are good. But I'm speaking about average people that have no bearing on my government or my way of life. People like a grandma who seek to spread what they think is right to other people. But making it a requirement and forcing it upon you in order to continue doing your job is wrong, its a horrible thing to do and I want nothing more than to help make it stop.