Group Targets Military's 'Religious Preference'

January 12, 2012
Military.com|by Bryant Jordan

A support group for atheist servicemembers has launched a petition drive to have President Obama end the requirement that the services solicit the religious affiliation of personnel, including recruits.

But a week after the Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers submitted the petition on WhiteHouse.gov the effort has garnered just 25 of the 25,000 signatures it needs by Feb. 5 to get any kind of response from the White House.

MAAF President Jason Torpy, a West Point graduate and former Army officer, acknowledges there is a long way to go but says he remains “optimistic that we’ll get the signatures once some other groups pick this up.”

Under the White House’s “We the People” program, anyone 13 or older can launch a petition on the WhiteHouse.gov site. Current policy stipulates that a minimum of 25,000 signatures have to be collected to get a response from the White House. Responses may not come directly from the President, but more likely from an administration official, including White House staff.

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