Denver, USA - The Air Force released new guidelines for religious tolerance Monday that discourage public prayer at official functions and urge commanders to be "sensitive" about personal expressions of religious faith.
The document directs chaplains to "respect the rights of others to their own religious beliefs, including the right to hold no beliefs."
The guidelines, which apply to the entire Air Force, were drawn up after allegations that evangelical Christians wield so much influence at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs that anti-Semitism and other forms of religious harassment have become pervasive.
An Air Force task force concluded that some students and staff at the school have the perception that the academy favors evangelical Christians and is intolerant of those who do not share their faith.
Mikey Weinstein, an academy graduate and persistent critic of the school's handling of religion, criticized the new guidelines, saying they fail to control evangelical zealots.
He said the guidelines are "dead on arrival" and said he is contemplating a lawsuit to block them.
"The Air Force's official policy remains that the Air Force reserves the right to evangelize anyone in the Air Force that it determines to be unchurched," Weinstein said in an interview from his home in Albuquerque, N.M.
The guidelines do not ban public prayer outright and say short, nonsectarian prayers may be included in special ceremonies or events, but only to lend a sense of solemnity and not to promote specific beliefs.
Nor do they bar personal discussions of religion, including discussions between commanders and subordinates. They caution Air Force members "to be sensitive to the potential that personal expressions may appear to be official expressions."
The guidelines state that members of the Air Force "will not officially endorse or establish religion, either one specific religion, or the idea of religion over non-religion."
They also say that "abuse or disrespect" of Air Force members based on their religious beliefs, or lack of such beliefs, is unacceptable.