BASIC RIGHTS OF THE MILITARY CHAPLAIN

CHPL 600
Theological Perspectives in Military Chaplaincy

The rights, protections, and freedoms of military chaplains come from many sources, both from within the military and from the federal law. Of course, the most significant protection of a chaplain’s rights comes directly from the First Amendment of the Constitution in that the government will not prohibit the free exercise of a specific religion. Over the years the rights, and even the presence, of the military chaplain have been challenged on several fronts and each time, the rights of chaplains to serve and worship have been affirmed. Similarly, the right of a military chaplain to pray in their specific tradition, as opposed to using a more plural or general prayer has been challenged. The challenge was heard by the Supreme Court, referred to as Engle v. Vitele, and the result was that “the government cannot prescribe by law any particular form of prayer which is to be used as an official prayer in carrying on any program of governmentally sponsored religious activity (Kurland, 1961).” Many took this to mean that all public prayer then had to be non-specific, and others that this merely meant that the government could not issue a standard that might indirectly end up supporting or creating a single religious group. Therefore, in order to definitively protect the chaplain’s denominationally or traditionally specific right to pray, House Resolution 5122 (2006, Section 590) was passed. HR 5122 (2006, Section 590) specifically states that “each military chaplain shall have the prerogative to pray according to the dictates of the chaplain’s own conscience.” HR 5122 (2006, Section 590) does add the caveat, “except as must be limited by military necessity,” however, the resolution is careful to note “with any such limitation being imposed in the least restrictive manner possible (HR 5122, 2006, section 590).” The Department of Defense maintains that in considering the inherent rights of the chaplain, the central framework of all policies is that of the free exercise of religion and that the DOD places a “high value on the rights of members of the Military Services to observe the tenets of their respective religions.” The right of the chaplain to practice their beliefs is no less valuable than that of a non-chaplain service member. Further, as stated by the Department of the Army (2003), “the spiritual authority for the chaplain derives from their religious organization, not from the military, and as such, they are to perform chaplain duties in keeping with the principles of their respective churches.” To this end, in each of the Service branch regulations that govern the duties, rights, and responsibilities of the chaplain, it specifically states that a chaplain has the right to “not have to provide services that would violate the particular views and practices of their individual faith groups (Department of the Army, 2010).” In this, a chaplain can seek to work in balance with the military’s pluralistic environment and their faith group’s practices and expectation without fear of repercussion. Further, due to legal reasoning and principles such as those presented in the decision of the Supreme Court (463 U.S. at 794-95, 1983) in Marsh v. Chambers, it can be seen that the military chaplain also has the right to teach and share the core values and the specific practices of their faith group to those that share their beliefs and other interested parties. The only limitation here, for prayer or teaching, is that a chaplain cannot be perceived as proselytizing in situations where service members and their families have a mandatory obligation to attend. This is certainly not to be taken as an intentional encroachment on the chaplain’s right to speak about their faith, but rather, is recognition of the right of others to choose as well as the avoidance of a perception of a First Amendment Establishment clause violation. Further, according to the Army, a chaplain, not in uniform and not acting in the capacity of a representative of the Army or government in general, can still evangelize and perform service or mission work in the name of their denomination, as well as attend and take leadership roles in denominational functions (Department of the Army, 2012, AR 600-20). A chaplain is certainly not expected to cease all civilian church functions or relationships because of their military obligations, indeed, maintaining these relationships are a critical component of a chaplain’s continued growth as religious leader and member of their faith group.

References
Department of the Army, Army Command Policy, Army Regulation 600-20, Washington, DC: U.S. Department of the Army, September 2012.

Department of the Army, Religious Support, Army Field Manual 1-05,Washington, DC: U.S. Department of the Army, April 2003.

Department of the Army, Regulation 165-1, Army Chaplain Corps Activities. January 2010. Retrieved 18 June 2013 from http://www.chapnet.army.mil/pdf/165-1.pdf

HR 5122. Military chaplain’s synopsis of issues and problems. Retrieved 20 June 2013 from http://mca-usa.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/HR5122issuesrev1Aug06.pdf

Kurland, Philip, “Of Church and State and the Supreme Court,” University of Chicago Law Review 29, 1961.

US Supreme Court. Marsh v. Chambers (463 U.S. at 794-95, 1983). Retrieved 20 June 2013 from http://www.ca4.uscourts.gov/Opinions/Published/041045.P.pdf