WASHINGTON\u00a0— Three atheist activism groups\u00a0have complained the Army\u00a0supported an evangelical Christian concert at North Carolina’s Fort Bragg but did not\u00a0act sufficiently enthusiastic about a\u00a0concert for nonbelievers.<\/p>\n
The three groups — Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the American Civil Liberties Union and the American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina — complained to the Secretary of the Army about events that they said appear to give “selective benefits” to religious groups.<\/p>\n
Fort Bragg hosted a Christian-themed “Rock the Fort” concert last September that was sponsored by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.<\/p>\n
The atheist groups allege that Fort Bragg chaplains promoted the event, which received “$50,000 in financial support, and $30,000 in logistical and security support” from the Army. Such actions “cannot be squared with (Army) regulations, much less with the First Amendment,” the groups said.<\/p>\n
The letter also complained that their atheist-themed “Rock Beyond Belief” event at Fort Bragg was not granted the same venue or the same level of support.<\/p>\n
In fact, disinterest in the event resulted in its being cancelled.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
WASHINGTON\u00a0— Three atheist activism groups\u00a0have complained the Army\u00a0supported an evangelical Christian concert at North Carolina’s Fort Bragg but did not\u00a0act sufficiently enthusiastic about a\u00a0concert for nonbelievers. The three groups — Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the American Civil Liberties Union and the American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina — complained to…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":270,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[674,32],"tags":[2232,2204,2201],"class_list":["post-3958","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-atheist","category-christian","tag-atheist","tag-christian","tag-news"],"yoast_head":"\n