Constitutional Law

Air Force Academy cadets still subject to proselytizing

By By The Associated Press

AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. ? An Air Force Academy-sponsored survey of cadets found that 41% of those who identified themselves as non-Christian said they were subjected to unwanted proselytizing at least once or twice last year.

Nearly one-fifth of all cadets said they experienced unwanted proselytizing.

The survey, conducted in December and January, was voluntary and anonymous. Of the 4,595 cadets enrolled at the time, 2,170 participated, or 47%.

On Oct. 29, the Air Force Academy reversed course and released the results of a survey on what cadets think about religious tolerance, sexual harassment and other aspects of their lives as students.

The results show mixed results in key areas.

The academy superintendent, Lt. Gen. Michael Gould, initially declined to make the results public, saying the were a "commander's tool" best used internally.

Several groups, including the Associated Press, filed Freedom of Information Act requests for the data, and Colorado Republican congressman Mike Coffman pressed Gould to go public.

Gould says he underestimated the interest in the survey and said, "I learned a lesson."

The AP obtained a copy of the figures on Oct. 28.

The academy has conducted a half-dozen cadet surveys since 2000, polling students on the learning climate, religious tolerance, sexual harassment and other topics.

Religious tolerance became a sensitive issue after the 2004 survey found that many cadets had heard slurs or jokes about other religions and that some felt ostracized because they weren't religious.

Gould, who was not at the academy in 2004, has made it a priority to improve religious tolerance, launching new programs and frequently reminding cadets, faculty and staff of the need to respect others' beliefs, or lack of them.

In August, when he described the latest survey in general terms, Gould said the results showed fewer cadets felt pressured to participate in religious groups than in previous years.

The documents appear to support that contention. They show that the percentage of Christians and non-Christians, including atheists, who felt pressure to get involved in religious activities declined, compared with a 2007 survey.

The most recent survey asked cadets how often during the previous 12 months they were in situations when someone subjected them to unwanted proselytizing. Cadets had five possible answers: very often, often, sometimes, once or twice and never.

The academy's analysis of this survey notes that about 10% of non-Christians reported they experienced unwanted proselytizing often or very often, and it labels that figure as a "primary concern."

The breakdown in each category for non-Christians shows that five cadets (or 3.8%) said they were subjected to unwanted proselytizing very often, eight (6.1%) often, 19 (14.5%) said sometimes and 22 (16.8%) said once or twice. Seventy-seven individuals (nearly 59%) reported they never experienced it.

The breakdown for Christians shows that nine cadets (or 0.6%) said they experienced unwanted proselytizing very often, 10 (0.7%) said often, 45 (3.3%) said sometimes and 133 (9.8%) said once or twice. About 86% or 1,164 individuals said they never experienced it.

Cadets who said they had no religious preference or who didn't identify as Christian, non-Christian or no preference reported lower rates of unwanted proselytizing than non-Christians.

The documents did not explain how the reported number of respondents who answered the question was less than the total number who completed the survey.

Full post as published by First Amendment Center on October 30, 2010 (boomark / email).