The American Civil Liberties Union disclosed today it had protested to the Navy Department against a requirement by the commanding officer of the U.S.S. Midway that all ship personnel stand at attention while Catholic or Protestant chaplains say an evening prayer and that grace be said at all meals.
The ACLU said such an order was “an infraction of the religious freedom of the individual” and said that it was likely there were persons of Jewish or other faith, or even non-believers, among the warship’s personnel who would be required “to be part of a religious service contrary to their belief.”
The ACLU said this amounted to “a form of establishment of religion which the constitution forbids.” It asked for corrections not only on the “Midway” but in the Navy generally.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
