Air Force Academy Makes “God” Optional

Last week, we reported how the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF) pressured the U.S. Air Force Academy into removing a poster with the Academy’s oath, which includes the phrase “so Help Me God.”

Now, the U.S. Air Force Academy has taken things a step further, deciding last week to make the phrase “so help me God” optional in its honor code.

The Academy’s Honor Review Committee made the decision after receiving a complaint filed by MRFF.

The Honor Oath, created in 1984, currently reads: “We will not lie, steal or cheat nor tolerate among us anyone who does. Furthermore, I resolve to do my duty and live honorably, so help me God.”

The change to the oath came right after the Academy capitulated to MRFF and removed the poster of the oath, which had been on display for 29 years.

The Air Force’s decision to remove the poster, and to make “God” optional in the oath, demonstrates the stunning quickness of the campaign to purge religion and religious liberty from the U.S. military.

In 1778, General George Washington and Congress ordered chaplains for every regiment of the Continental Army, and Washington—in a written order—encouraged religious piety among the ranks.

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