United States Air Force Academy

The United States Air Force Academy (USAFA), is an institution for the undergraduate education of officers in the United States Air Force. The campus is located in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Upon completion of the four-year program, graduates receive a Bachelor of Science degree and are normally commissioned as Second Lieutenants in the United States Air Force. (A small number of graduates "cross-commission" into other services each year, and a few foreign cadets and graduates who are not medically qualified will receive a degree but will not be commissioned.)

Religion at the Academy

The soaring Cadet Chapel is the most prominent building on the Air Force Academy campus. It features a 1,300 seat Protestant Chapel on its upper floor and a 500 seat Catholic Chapel on the lower floor. There is also a 100 seat Jewish Chapel on the lower floor and interfaith facilities. A survey of cadets in 2004 reported that 85 percent were Christian, 2 percent atheists, 1.5 percent Jewish, 0.3 percent Hindu, 0.4 percent Muslim, and 9.3 percent gave no preference or identified themselves as "other".

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Accusations of religious intolerance

In early-mid 2005, reports and unfavorable editorials in major US newspapers (including The New York Times)http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/11/opinion/11sat2.html?pagewanted=print reported that the academy was being dominated by Evangelical Christians who were forcing their beliefs onto other graduates. The information in these news reports also indicates that important members of staff were also instrumental in this process. An Air Force panel investigated the accusations and issued its report http://www.af.mil/pdf/HQ_Review_Group_Report.pdf on June 22, 2005. It reported that some officers and faculty had used their position to promote their Christian beliefs and that the religious needs of non-Christian cadets had not been adequately accommodated. No finding of overt religious discrimination was found, only "insensitivity". The Academy leadership was praised for working to improve the situation http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/23/politics/23academy.html?th&emc=th. In an opinion piece entitled, "Obfuscating Intolerance", the New York Times found that the report "strains credibility" http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/23/opinion/23thu2.html?th&emc=th.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~