Army officer wants humanism officially recognized

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http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_REL_ARMY_HUMANIST?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2012-02-08-12-03-14

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) -- An officer at Fort Bragg wants the Army to recognize that there are not only atheists in foxholes, but plenty of humanists, too.

Maj. Ray Bradley has applied to become a lay leader for humanists at the sprawling Army base, but his request to be officially identified as a humanist in his records and dog tags has been denied.

Bradley can be identified as an atheist, but he says that's not a fully accurate description of what he believes. He says humanism is a philosophical system with a distinctive set of ethics and beliefs rather than a simple disbelief in God.

Fort Bragg has an increasingly active population of soldiers who are atheists, agnostics or humanists. They're planning a concert at the base on March 31.