Ben Carson: Don't Let 'Hypersensitivity' Of Atheists Trump Religious Freedom

Ben Carson, conservative activist and retired neurosurgeon, recently argued that Americans must ignore the "hypersensitivity" of atheists and instead continue to practice their right to religious freedom.

Carson made his argument while referencing the recent incident involving Bibles in Navy lodges across the country. The Navy Exchange, the group that runs military lodges across the U.S., had previously bowed to pressure by the Freedom From Religion Foundation to remove Bibles from its lodges. However, the Navy then reversed its decision and chose to replace the Bibles, saying the issue needed further investigating and had not been addressed with superiors when the Bibles were initially removed.

Carson, who has become a darling of the conservative base since delivering a widely-publicized speech at the 2013 National Prayer Breakfast, argued in a recent Op-Ed for the National Review Online that Christians must ignore the "hypersensitivity" of atheist groups and continue to express their religious freedom rights in spite of setbacks, such as the Navy's temporary Bible removal.

"As a nation, we must avoid the paralysis of hypersensitivity, which prevents us from getting anything done because virtually everything offends someone. We need to distribute 'big boy' pants to help the whiners learn to focus their energy in a productive way," Carson writes.

"Liberty and justice for all has worked extremely well for an extended period of time, and there is no reason to upset the equilibrium by endowing the hypersensitive complainers in our society with more power than everyone else," Carson continued.

"Thankfully, the Navy quickly realized its mistake and restored the Bible to its lodges. Maybe now we can deal with the real issues that threaten our safety."