| Have Military Chaplains' First Amendment Rights Been Violated?
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Dear Mr. President:
We are disappointed and gravely concerned to learn that the right of military chaplains to pray according to their faith is in jeopardy. ... There are currently no laws or regulations that prohibit chaplains from praying according to their respective denominations or different faiths, and we are deeply concerned that chaplains are now being instructed on what to say when they pray....
Throughout our nation’s history, chaplains not only have remained an integral part of our military, but they also have always prayed according to their faith tradition. We believe that if chaplains are chosen to pray before a professional setting, they have a constitutional right to adhere to the religious expressions of their faith....
The above was taken from a letter written to President Bush by Walter Jones(R) NC, and 69 of his fellow congressmen encouraging the President to sign an executive order protecting the military chaplains' right of free speech.
Congressman Walter Jones cited in a press conference a letter from an Army Chaplain who said that in chaplain training it was made clear that praying in the "name of Jesus"
was against Army Policy and he subsequently was reprimanded for doing so.
Like Mike McIntyre D-NC(one of the 69) said, "Chaplains ought to be able to pray based on who they are. Otherwise, it's hypocrisy."
And Like Rep. Todd Akin, R-Mo.(one of the 69) said,
“We’ve gotten so culturally sensitive we’ve forgotten the First Amendment,” “I’m afraid [we’re moving] away from freedom of speech.” He also said(slighly paraphrasing) in a recent radio interview,We have different chaplains of different faiths-Catholic, Jewish, Protestant,etc-
because people have different beliefs... Political correctness has run amuck. ..."Nobody can say anything of any significance that
possibly could offend anybody"
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| A Chaplain Replies By John Henry Lee
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(www.centerportumc.org/artwork/chaplain.JPG) |
Have Military Chaplains' First Amendment Rights Been Violated? On the one hand, it really is a nonissue. I think for most chaplains, using a kind of generic ending to a prayer has been more the rule than the exception: "In Thy Name."
What would get a chaplain's dander up, so to speak, is if someone came out and ordered them not to say "In Jesus name." If the young chaplain that Congressman Jones mentioned was reprimaded for saying "In the name of Jesus" a second look should be given to military policy.
Nevertheless, I don't think public prayers carry much weight in a sense. By public prayers, I mean prayers that are somewhat quasi- official. In the military, chaplains have always been a part of official ceremonies, i. e., graduations, commemorative services, anything that smacks at official. They don't have to be, but often they are.
I was once in an assignment where I had to attend two or three graduations a week with the responsibility for the prayer at each ceremony. I hated it and devised this really short prayer. By the time, we closed our eyes, the prayer was over. An older chaplain actually admonished me to pray longer. I ignored him and truly believe, "He who prays much in private, prays little in public."
GONE OVERBOARD
I think that we've gone way overboard with the PC (political correctness) thing. The Air Force Academy has dealt with implied problems( like evangelical Christians have too much influence) by being gutless in their approach. In an official study, a commission said that Air Force Cadets had been somewhat exuberant(in their faith) but the problem was not pervasive. Now, however, the Academy has issued proposed guidelines which include discouraging prayer at most public events and requiring chaplains to be sensitive to those not wanting offerings of faith. Stupid!
Guidelines are not going to appease those who, for whatever reason, are determined to make asses out of themselves. For some Jewish father whose son is at the Academy (don't forget, the American taxpayer, meaning you and I, are footing the bill for this disgruntled Father's kid to receive a free education) says that the Academy chaplains were proselytizing. Well La de dah!
I doubt it. Sounds to be like they were merely promoting their program. If someone doesn't want to be involved, they don't have to be involved. Is anyone putting a gun to their heads? If, in some sort of "captive audience" situation, some chaplain or commander stands up and promotes religion, that is unacceptable. But, such would be a rare thing indeed. Who knows what the Jewish father was thinking when he criticized the chaplains at the Air Force Academy : Does he think driving an airplane is a picnic? If his son can't deal with the pressures of someone proselytizing, even if it happened, there is no guarantee his son is going to do all that well as a career military type. My opinion.
One thing I like about George W. is that he doesn't hesitate to voice his opinion. He's more of a moderate than we like to believe. In this case, I don't think he ought to get involved; Chaplains are big boys and can handle this sort of stuff; Most of our work has been outside the public arena anyway. Our autonomy in the military has taken us a long way and I think it is a good path. Just like we don't need the President's involvement, we don't need the Air Force Academy guidelines. But, then again, no one is asking me.
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| E-mail Response To: Have Chaplain's 1st Amendment Rights Been Violated?
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The following is an e-mail response to the above Kelly Thomas article which comments on the concerns that military chaplains can not practice the faith of their perspective denominations. For instance, can Christian chaplains say "In Jesus Name"; or, from another perspective, should they use discretion depending on the event or circumstance? |
Email from Clyde, Retired Army Chaplain:
(armyemblem) |
I never had a problem praying “In the Name of Our Lord.” I didn’t run into a strong objection to this until the late 80s.I saw a lot of difference between prayer in the worship service and prayer at a graduation exercise. I did a lot of praying when I was in the various school settings. I was blessed to be at Benning in OCS and at Rucker in Aviator Training.
There were parties which marked the completion of various phases of training. I felt that I was a representative of all of faith who participated and I never felt a need in those situations to pray exclusively in my own faith setting. I ended my prayers differently when I was leading worship services.I never felt that I was being curtailed in any way as I preached, led worship, and prayed. CN
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