Attack formation

Defense | Despite scandals and ethical lapses, a mantra of tolerance threatens Air Force Academy's evangelical chaplaincy | Mark Bergin

Still reeling from a series of sexual assault accusations in 2003, the Air Force Academy has slipped into yet another public-relations nightmare in recent weeks. Critics have charged the well-ordered institution with letting religious fascism run wild. The supposed culprit: old-fashioned evangelicalism.

During a voluntary Protestant worship service last summer, Academy chaplain Warren Watties mentioned several basic tenets of evangelical Christianity, including the call to evangelize and the sovereign purposes of God. A professor-led team of Yale Divinity School students auditing the sermon deemed such speech a "challenge to pluralism" and recommended future services focus "on aspects of ecumenical teamwork and developing an appreciation of spiritual diversity."