Representing Secular Americans
In Our Nation's Capital
Demand Fort Bragg Support Nontheistic Festival
Army Garrison Commander Refused to Provide Event Support
“Rock Beyond Belief,” a festival of nontheistic speakers and musicians that was going to be held at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, on April 2, has been canceled after Fort Bragg’s garrison commander refused to provide adequate support for the event – even though Fort Bragg officials had made similar arrangements for a religious event just months ago.
Among those scheduled to appear at the festival were author Richard Dawkins; Dan Barker, copresident of the Freedom From Religion Foundation; “Friendly Atheist” blogger Hemant Mehta; Mikey Weinstein of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation; and musicians Spoonboy and Roy Zimmerman.
Rock Beyond Belief’s organizers had asked for lesser or equal amounts of support for their event than the Army and Fort Bragg officials provided for the Billy Graham Evangelical Association’s “Rock the Fort” celebration in 2010. You can see a complete comparison of the more than $100,000 in government funds provided to the Rock the Fort event to the funds asked for by the Rock Beyond Belief organizers here.
According to Rock Beyond Belief’s chief organizer, Sgt. Justin Griffith, service members without any religious affiliation compose the second-largest “religious” group at Fort Bragg, after Christians. Griffith also points out on the festival’s website, rockbeyondbelief.com, that Fort Bragg officially cosponsored the evangelical concert event in 2010 despite calls for the Christian event to be canceled. He states on the website that Fort Bragg officials explained that “[Fort Bragg] would be willing and able to provide the same support to comparable events.”
Fort Bragg officials have offered no reasonable explanation for denying a nontheistic festival the same level of support and accommodation that was provided to a Christian festival just months ago. Fort Bragg's actions give all the appearance of discrimination and religious privileging. The service members at Fort Bragg and all nontheistic service members need your help in being heard now.
Please send an email or letter to any or all of the following officials protesting the discriminatory actions of Fort Bragg garrison commander Colonel Stephen J. Sicinski, who has denied equal support and funding for this nonreligious event.
Col. Stephen J. Sicinski
Garrison Commander
XVIII Airborne Corps and Fort Bragg
2175 Reilly Road, Stop A
Fort Bragg, NC 28310
Email: stephen.sicinski@us.army.mil
Ben Abel
Public Affairs Officer
Fort Bragg
Email: benjamin.abel@us.army.mil
U.S. Congressman Larry Kissell
8th District, North Carolina
Member, Armed Forces Committee
(202) 225-3715
Email: https://forms.house.gov/kissell/contact-form.shtml
U.S. Senator Kay Hagan
North Carolina
1-877-852-9462
Email: http://hagan.senate.gov/contact/
Lieutenant General Frank Helmick
XVIII Airborne Corps and Fort Bragg
2175 Reilly Road, Stop A
Fort Bragg, NC 28310
Email: frank.helmick@us.army.mil
Honorable John McHugh
Secretary of the Army
1400 Defense Pentagon
Washington, DC 20301-1400
If you are so inclined, please send SCA a copy of your letter or BCC (blind copy) us on your emails. Thank you for your support of the nontheistic community and for all of our service members.
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The Secular Coalition for America is the national lobby for atheists, humanists, freethinkers, and other nontheistic Americans. From our office in the nation's capital, our lobbyists and support staff engage public policy makers and the media on issues ranging from religion's influence on education and medical research to the privileging of faith groups by government. We are the first and only cooperative venture of freethought organizations coming together to improve the cultural and political situation of a previously unrepresented constituency: the tens of millions of atheists and agnostics in the United States.
