Right Wing Sites Go Nuts On Claim That Army Calls Evangelicals “Extremists”

Making the rounds this weekend on many right wing sites:

A U.S. Army training instructor listed Evangelical Christianity and Catholicism as examples of religious extremism along with Al Qaeda and Hamas during a briefing with an Army Reserve unit based in Pennsylvania, Fox News has learned. We find this offensive to have Evangelical Christians and the Catholic Church to be listed among known terrorist groups,” said Ron Crews, executive director of the Chaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty. “It is dishonorable for any U.S. military entity to allow this type of wrongheaded characterization.” The incident occurred during an Army Reserve Equal Opportunity training brief on extremism. Topping the list is Evangelical Christianity. Other organizations listed included Catholicism, Al Qaeda, Hamas, the Ku Klux Klan, Sunni Muslims, and Nation of Islam. .

An Army spokesman said: “This slide was not produced by the Army and certainly does not reflect our policy or doctrine. It was produced by an individual without anyone in the chain of command’s knowledge or permission.”  The Southern Poverty Law Center has denied charges that they supplied the officer in question with the list, noting that they have never characterized evangelical Christianity or Catholicism as being “extremist.”  Sample comment from Breitbart: “F* Obama and his cohorts of extreme left wing crackheads.”