Military Times Ad: When You Gave Up Individual Rights to Serve, Religious Freedom Wasn't One of Them

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Nov 11, 2013, 11:26 ET

Family Research Council, 15 Religious Liberty Advocacy Groups Place Ad in Military Times Offering Legal Aid to Service Members

WASHINGTON, Nov. 11, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- As Americans everywhere honor and pray for the men and women who have served and are serving in the U.S. Armed Forces this Veterans Day, Family Research Council (FRC) and 15 other members of the Restore Military Religious Freedom Coalition are running an ad in Military Times' publications informing service members that religious liberty advocacy groups stand ready to provide legal assistance should they experience a violation of their religious liberty rights.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20080930/FRCLOGO)

The ad's text reads, "You gave up many individual rights to be in the military. Religious freedom wasn't one of them." It then lists numerous instances of recent attacks on religion in the military, and gives service members a hotline number they can call to share instances of religious freedom violations they have experienced or witnessed.

FRC President Tony Perkins said:

"On Veterans Day, Family Research Council and the Restore Military Religious Freedom Coalition honor and pray for our troops, especially those who are being discriminated against for living out their faith. More and more service members are facing harassment, demotion, and formal reprimands simply for being Bible-believing Christians. They've been prohibited from sharing their faith, forbidden from praying publicly, and dismissed from duty for refusing to surrender their religious convictions.

"Defending America's freedom shouldn't mean surrendering theirs, especially given that the Constitution they have sworn to uphold guarantees religious liberty as all Americans' 'first freedom,'" concluded Perkins.

To view the Military Times ad, click here: http://downloads.frc.org/EF/EF13K20.pdf

To watch FRC's short film about the religious liberty crisis in the military, "A Clear and Present Danger," click here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-PDR9Gxvvc&list=PLX54JHEGsMzN9E-HL5a5URo264xNGjFvP

To read "A Clear and Present Danger," FRC's comprehensive report on religious persecution in the military, click here: http://www.frc.org/clearpresentdanger

SOURCE Family Research Council