U.S. Military Training Course Calls The Bible, Constitution Sexist

A Defense Department-approved online military training course brands the Bible, the Declaration of Independence, and the U.S. Constitution as sexist documents.

According to the e-learning “Sexism” course produced by the Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute (DEOMI) based at Patrick Air Force Base in Florida, historical influences such as the Bible and the U.S. founding texts are guilty of allowing sexism to continue in contemporary society. For example, the course content indicates that the reference to “We the people” in the Constitution applied only to white men, while the “all men are created equal” wording in the Declaration leaves out women.

After The Daily Caller broke this story, however, the Sexism course was abruptly taken down from the DEOMI website, as were two others, “Prejudice & Discrimination” and “Racism.” All three are supposedly undergoing revision.

Defense Department spokesman Lt. Cmdr. Nate Christensen told The Daily Caller that the content is meant to stimulate academic discussion and that “DEOMI online materials are periodically pulled to review to ensure accuracy and relevance. The Racism, Sexism and Prejudice & Discrimination are currently undergoing that review process.”

The spokesman added that the online courses are voluntary but that about 2,000 people have completed the Sexism course thus far.

DEOMI, which provides equal opportunity education and training for U.S. military active duty soldiers and reservists as well as civilians, describes its mission as enhancing “mission readiness from development through delivery of world-class human relations education…” DEOMI also administers sexual harassment and sexual assault prevention programs.

The American Thinker did not find the implication in the e-learning course of what might amount to so-called white privilege very thought provoking.

“It’s important to note that of those texts, only the Bible specifically excludes women from enjoying equal rights — a document based on the way people lived 2500 years ago. And if you want to get real technical about it, many white men were excluded from enjoying equal rights because the only people who could vote in America at the time of the Declaration and Constitution were free white males who owned property…But the important point in this argument is that the inspiration for equal rights for women and minorities came from the Declaration of Independence and that the Constitution allowed for changing the law to include women and minorities as equal citizens. The idea that this translates into these two texts contributing to modern sexism is idiotic — a forced construct bearing no relation to reality unless you view the world through the prisms of race and gender.”

Separately, the Military Times reported in December that the DEOMI commandant was temporarily reassigned as of result of misconduct allegations. “A source familiar with the investigation told Military Times that [Army Col. Morris] Turner’s alleged misconduct involves ‘inappropriate touching.’ Turner has denied any wrongdoing.”

Do you consider the Bible, the Declaration of Independence, or the Constitution — the latter which members of the U.S. military take an oath to support and defend — sexist documents?

[Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images News]