Army recognizes 'Humanism' as a religious preference

[MADem]

This is a step forward in terms of tolerance, certainly. The Unformed Services are a work in progress in terms of accepting individual approaches but this is as big a stride as the Wiccan one they took several years back.

http://www.armytimes.com/article/20140424/NEWS/304240056/Army-recognizes-Humanism-religious-preference

The Army has taken a step toward officially acknowledging “humanists” among other faiths and belief systems, ending years of resistance to the idea, advocates say.

The faith code for Humanism — a secular belief system — was officially approved by the service alongside Muslim, Hindu, Wiccan, Jewish, Buddhist and various Christian denominations.

The religious “preference code,” which troops can select to denote their preference, became effective for humanists on April 12.

Army Maj. Ray Bradley, in a blog post, said for years he and others had to choose between “atheist” or “no religious preference,” which inaccurately described his beliefs.

“The ability to accurately identify myself in my official Army records as a humanist is not only a matter of personal integrity and dignity, but it also has important implications for my military service,” said Bradley, who is stationed at Fort Bragg, N.C....