James Parco, PhD

For God and Country:

Religious Fundamentalism in the US Military

Thursday, April 18, 2013, 7 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.

Tim Gill Center for Public Media

315 East Costilla

Colorado Springs

James Parco was born in Pueblo, Colorado and attended the United States Air Force Academy as a student. He went on to earn his Master of Business Administration from The College of William & Mary and later, his doctorate from the University of Arizona studying under Amnon Rapoport and Vernon L. Smith. He has published widely in the fields of experimental economics, game theory and military culture. He served on the National Security Council at the White House during the Clinton Administration, overseas with the American Embassy in Tel Aviv and spent two tours as a faculty member at his alma mater. He is currently a professor of economics and business at Colorado College.

After returning from overseas in 2003, Parco resumed his teaching post at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs where he began forwarding evidence of systemic evangelical proselytizing to the institution’s chain of command. In 2005, following the ousting of Air Force chaplain Melinda Morton, the Air Force investigated the nationally-publicized religious intolerance crisis and released a report identifying a series of problems that led to the issuance of revised religious guidelines. He later co-authored a paper with Barry Fagin in the Humanist proposing an Oath of Equal Character and explaining the structural problems that likely led to the observed issues. In 2007, he was awarded the Thomas Jefferson National Award for the Preservation of Religious Freedom, for his efforts by the Military Religious Freedom Foundation. He was subsequently reassigned to the Air Command and Staff College in 2007 where he ended his career teaching courses in leadership and strategy. He received the Outstanding Faculty Award from the Military Officers Association of America in 2009 and in 2010, he became the first military officer in the history of Air University to be promoted to the academic rank of full professor and later named educator of the year. He retired from active duty in 2011.

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