The Heritage Foundation lays out last week’s legal victory for religious freedom as it relates to military veterans.
Last week a federal judge approved a settlement agreement that will help ensure that religious freedom is respected at the Houston National Cemetery and other national cemeteries around the country.
Several veterans groups, represented by the Texas-based Liberty Institute, and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) agreed to a consent decree that requires the VA to acknowledge the religious freedom rights of veterans’ groups and families and allow the inclusion of religious language and prayers in military burials.
The rifle salute, the solemn playing of Taps, and the presentation of the folded flag to family members are important, iconic rituals of a military funeral. During many veterans’ burials, volunteers from the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) also include recitation of a prayer and express condolences to the families of the deceased. At the Houston National Cemetery, however, mere mention of such unauthorized religious sentiment has been met with increasing official hostility and censorship.
