Military service means submitting to discipline restricting Constitutional guarantees. However, expressing religious faith has not been among them. Religious faith serves as a critical foundation for surviving the grinding stress and shattering experiences of warfare. However, this issue was never addressed in the Pentagon study.
Basic theology explains why Jewish, Christian, and Muslim believers find their religious freedom evaporating by repeal of U.S. Code Section 654 of Title 10 known as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”. Followers of desert religions, who send their pastors into the chaplaincy and believers into military service, consider homosexual behavior unacceptable. It resides among the myriad sins entrapping fallen humanity.
For tens of millions “People of the Book” foundational Old Testament scholarship concludes homosexual relationships separate believers from God. When speaking of the character, identity, and purpose of God, he is spoken of as masculine, and all humans become feminine in relation to Him. Besides creating all things, God created heterosexual marriage as the earthy manifestation of the absolute unity and love He seeks with each person.
Classical Semitic theology emphasizes identifying with God in spiritual intimacy. Therefore, worthy actions and thoughts are those which reinforce the faith commitment to spiritual relationship. Jewish, Christian, and Muslim believers find any subsequent reasoning must proceed from that basic understanding.
Therefore after repeal, when believers reject homosexuality in counseling rolls and normal life activities, these people reside outside Constitutional boundaries guaranteeing religious freedom. They would see themselves becoming guilty of at least cultural prejudice, if not criminality.
The debate should continue well into next year until Congress has to fully address this issue.
In business, it is generally not considered good practice to drive away 16% of your best workers in order to attract 2-3% of those of unknown quality.