A spokesperson for the cathedral confirmed that the Bible was used for the swearing-in of General Raymond on Tuesday morning. It was donated by the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C.

"May this Bible guard and guide all those who purpose that the final frontier be a place where God will triumph over evil, where love will triumph over hate, and where life will triumph over death," said the Right Rev. Carl Wright, the Episcopal Church's bishop suffragan for the Armed Forces and Federal Ministries, as an Air Force chaplain held the Bible.

After the blessing, Hollerith welcomed visitors and described the cathedral as "a house of worship for all people."

Nevertheless, the ceremony immediately sparked outrage online for seeming to imply that following specific religious beliefs was necessary in a branch of the military. "So no Jews, Atheists, Muslims, Hindus, Mormons, Sikhs allowed in Space Force?" Princeton professor Steven Strauss tweeted at the church.

The Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF) issued a statement Monday after it said it received complaints from members of the military, veterans and civilians.

The foundation "condemns, in as full-throated a manner as is humanly possible, the shocking and repulsive display of only the most vile, exclusivist, fundamentalist Christian supremacy, dominance, triumphalism and exceptionalism which occurred at yesterday's 'blessing', at the Washington National Cathedral," the group's founder and president Mikey Weinstein said.

"For the record, military commanders are NOT ever 'sworn in' to their positions let alone with the usage of a Christian bible or other book of faith. And especially not in 2020!!" he continued.

The group said it is filing a formal complaint with Secretary of Defense Mark Esper. It will also assist in filing Inspector General and Equal Employment Opportunity complaints with the Department of Defense "to stop this train-wreck disaster in its stinking tracks from ever even leaving the station."

MRFF said that if the complaints fail to end the use of the Bible for military swearing-in ceremonies, it will bring its case to federal court in Northern Virginia. It argues the usage of a Christian Bible in this manner violates the First Amendment's separation of church and state and an additional article that states no federal employee is required to adhere to a particular religion in order to hold a job with the federal government.

The Department of Defense did not immediately reply to CBS News' request for comment.

FOOTNOTE TO THIS STORY

A source told VOL that the general consensus was that things are in better shape than ever, and troublemaker Mikey Weinstein has been largely contained, even in the Air Force where he did so much initial damage. The Navy has a particularly good record with its chaplains. The real problem is that the Military culture (dedication, sacrifice etc.) is completely at odds with America's civilian culture (spoiled, narcissistic etc.) In short, religious freedom is highly contested, but the condition of the issue in the services is better than in the country at large!