[UPDATE Below]
When did the constitutional principle of Separation of Church and State get diluted and trumped upon by various religious factions? In the 1800's, Thomas Jefferson knew that in order to protect the establishment of religion from the state, a wall of separation was needed between religion and government.
Even though Thomas Jefferson was a man of deep religious conviction - he believed that the government had no business getting involved in religion since religion was such a personal matter. In 1802, Jefferson wrote a letter to the Danbury Baptist Association in response to their concern about religious liberties. The letter has become known as Jefferson's 'Wall of Separation' letter:
When did the constitutional principle of Separation of Church and State get diluted and trumped upon by various religious factions? In the 1800's, Thomas Jefferson knew that in order to protect the establishment of religion from the state, a wall of separation was needed between religion and government.
Even though Thomas Jefferson was a man of deep religious conviction - he believed that the government had no business getting involved in religion since religion was such a personal matter. In 1802, Jefferson wrote a letter to the Danbury Baptist Association in response to their concern about religious liberties. The letter has become known as Jefferson's 'Wall of Separation' letter:
Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man & his god, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, and not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, thus building a wall of separation between church and state.Now over 200 years later, we need to re-educate the religious faction in the military about this doctrine. A new video has surfaced showing U.S. military soldiers being instructed to "spread Christianity to the overwhelmingly Muslim population." Lieutenant-Colonel Gary Hensley, the chief of the US military chaplains in Afghanistan, is seen telling soldiers that as followers of Jesus Christ, they all have a responsibility “to be witnesses for him.” WATCH:
Evangelical Christians have found that the military is not only a haven for their proselytizing but in Afghanistan it is 'Heaven'.
UPDATE: A defense official tells the Huffington Post that the preacher did not mean that soldiers should hunt for Afghani souls, but was speaking in general terms. He also said that the Pashtun and Dari Bibles were confiscated so that they could not be distributed to the population.
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