Although I was raised Catholic and did all those Catholic boy things growing up like being an altar boy and sneaking a taste of the sacramental wine when the priest wasn’t looking, I am not an especially religious person today.

But even though I’m not that religious, I respect people who are, as long as they are not trying to use their religion to hurt other people.

I have never felt the need for others to think the way I do or believe everything I believe, so I could feel better about myself. I especially felt that way when it came to someone’s faith. I can respect their views if they can respect mine.

Our Founding Fathers had the same philosophy when they wrote the First Amendment. It specifically says that Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Our Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, evidently doesn’t believe that the First Amendment applies to him. Not only has he blocked reporters from the Pentagon, but he has now dropped 180 religions from the list of organized faiths the Pentagon will acknowledge.

That means that the men who are willing to put their lives on the line for our country but have a religious belief that Hegseth doesn’t agree with will have to officially fall in line with one of the 31 more popular faiths. What this order means is that if you are a Druid, a Unitarian Universalist, a Pagan, a Deist, or numerous other fringe faiths, your belief will not be printed on your dog tag, and if you die in service to America, they will not accommodate whatever traditions your faith practices at funerals.

If you’re an atheist, that will no longer be allowed on your dog tags either. You’ll have to conform to one of the mostly Christian faiths approved by the Pentagon or put No Religion on your dog tag.

If you’re a member of a church that’s been kicked to the curb, you can be listed as Other Religion.

Of the 31 remaining churches approved by the government, 21 of them are Christian faiths. Mormons are on the list, but it’s no longer considered to be a Christian religion, even though the formal name is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

If you think that some of these fringe religions are weird, that’s OK. They probably think what you believe is weird, too. But weird or not, they are all guaranteed by the very First Amendment these brave servicemen are risking their lives to protect.

Did you notice that I have only mentioned service MEN? That’s not by accident, because not only has Secretary Hegseth shown a disdain for faiths he doesn’t approve of, but he has been firing, demoting, and demoralizing any and all women in uniform. His Christian Nationalist faith does not consider women to be equals.

America was not founded as a Christian nation. John Adams explicitly said that America was, and I quote, “not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion.”

Most of our Founding Fathers were indeed of various Christian denominations, but not all of them. Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin were Deists; John Adams embraced Unitarianism. None of our founders’ beliefs would have been recognized by the Pentagon under Hegseth.

Little by little, Christian Nationalists are infiltrating our government. It’s OK for Christian Nationalists to believe what they believe, but it is unconstitutional for them to try to force their beliefs on the rest of us. Just as it would be unconstitutional for atheists, for example, to block others from going to the church of their choice.

Since you’re probably not in the service and there’s a better than average chance that you’re Christian, you might think that what’s happening at the Pentagon doesn’t affect you, but it most certainly does.

Little by little, we lose our freedoms. If the government can block a fringe religion in the military, there’s nothing that can stop them from blocking your more mainstream church in civilian life.

At least that’s what the nuns at St. Agatha’s taught me.

Tom Becka is a long time Nebraska broadcaster who for over 30 years has been covering Omaha and Midwest issues on both radio and TV. He has been a guest on numerous national cable and news shows, filled in for nationally syndicated talk radio programs and Talkers Magazine has recognized him as one of the Top 100 talk show hosts in the country 10 times. Never afraid to ruffle some feathers, his ‘Becka’s Beat’ commentaries can be found online on Youtube and other digital platforms.

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