Separation: Military Chaplains
Government chaplains and the separation of church and state
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Making the case for military chaplains is a bit easier than for Congressional Chaplains. Personnel stationed on a base may not be able to travel to religious services elsewhere, especially if the base has a remote location. In time of war, it may be impossible to reach a priest or rabbi from the front lines, much less from a hospital bed where one is dying. If the government demands that they be there and make such sacrifices, perhaps the government should ensure that the troops' ability to exercise their religion is not lost.
The government pays for chaplains in the military whenever there is a large concentration of troops. Chaplains can be Protestant ministers, Roman Catholic priests, or Jewish rabbis. As an example, Fort Hood, Texas (the largest U.S. Army base) has 96 chaplains for a total of 42,000 military personnel. Chaplains also go with troops into battle, sometimes on the front lines and sometimes in medical units, offering counseling services and religious support.
The existence of military chaplains has been no less political than congressional chaplains. In 1999, a group of Wiccan soldiers in Fort Hood created an "Open Circle" which allowed them to meet together. U.S. Representative Bob Barr of Georgia attacked the existence of such a group, arguing that Wicca did not deserve "official recognition" in the military. He even tried to get an amendment put on a bill which would prohibit the practice of Wicca or any form of witchcraft at any Defense Department facilities - a measure which was rejected merely on procedural grounds.
Conservative Christian groups raised similar complaints, arguing that only Christianity, Judaism and Islam should get any sort of "official" government recognition and support. Such groups rarely support the principle of separation anyway, but it is interesting that they were so blatant in their demands for religious favoritism and largesse from the government.
Military chaplains as a whole have been forbidden from speaking out about particular political issues. For example, they were barred from doing anything in support of the Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act, no matter how strongly they felt about the issue morally and religiously. This was, without question, a form of censorship - and it's not the only way in which the existence of military chaplains is as much a problem for religion as it is for the government.
Military chaplains don't exist merely or perhaps even primarily for the sake of religious instruction. The military command allows them into the military institutions for the purpose of making those institutions function more smoothly. Soldiers will perform better on a psychological and emotional level when chaplains are around to provide religious comfort. Thus, the existence of chaplains is essentially predicated on their continuing to serve that function - and this means that chaplains are serving two masters, their God and the military high command.
They may try hard to maintain ecclesiastical independence, but in the end just how successful can they be? How much are they selling out in order to be there? How much of their own religious values must be given up in order to avoid "rocking the boat" and adhering to strict military regulations concerning conduct and teachings?
More: Other Chaplains (Prisons, Police)
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