Chaplains Disloyal To National Religion
I heard this story on NPR regarding the over abundance of evangelicals Christians in the ranks of chaplains of the military. Having been a part of military chapel system at times I feel it is an incredibly tough job to be a chaplain. It is a political mine field. Over the years, my wife and I talked about the possibiliites of going into the chaplaincy, but because there has to be so much compromise, we felt it would not be a fit.
In this story NPR basically stated that the evangelical Chaplains were not playing by the rules when it comes to evangelizing and when it comes to serving those of other faiths. In a sense I think NPR is stating that the national religion of the United States is an ecumenical one. In a sense, the Unitarian faith would be the state sponsored church and these chaplains are disloyal. (Perhaps I overstate my case.) However, the main push of the story seemed to be that the evangelical men and women who serve as chaplains should be more generic and less specific in the way they expressed their faith. This tension is exactly why I felt I had to leave the chapel at Frankfurt, Germany. While I did not begrudge a Christian Science chaplain from serving, I did not want non-trinitarian chaplain preaching a different gospel to my family. I wanted him to serve, just not serve me and my family. Generic religion may be fine if that is what you beleive, but some of us believe God sets the standards, not the Chaplain Corps, the US government, nor NPR.
As I understand it, the Chaplain Corps attempts to recruit the same percentages as reflect the rank and file in the military at large. Also as I understand it, the Chaplain Corps has gone to great lengths to recruit Roman Catholic chaplains. They have even made it so that a Roman Catholic priest can be much older than his evangelical counterparts. But there are many reasons Roman Catholics are not entering the ministry. Then if they do enter, why seek to serve in the military when there are many needs in the civilian sector.
The capitalization of the word evangelical in the story and using the term evangelical the same way you would properly capitalize Roman Catholic is an error. Evangelical is not a denomination. There are many small and varied groups that one might (or might not) call evangelical. I think the numbers in the Chaplain Corps should reflect each specific denomination. Lumping certain groups together by one's liking into a single category may simplify the recruiting issue and the accusation building, however, those who are a part of those groups find their distinctions being trampled upon.
I think you will find that the Chaplain Corps has been working hard to make their ranks look like the soldier ranks. I also think these public servants by and large try to balance faith and national service in a way that does not unnecessarily comprehmise either.
Comments
America is a country refered to as a melting pot of many cultures and core belifs. If we could respect each other and not try to change them into what we are what a wonderful world this could become.
Military Chaplains are from specific beliefs. When we were active duty the three major beliefs were Catholic, Prostestent and Jewish. The Chaplains were hold specific services representing the major faiths and would follow their belief in these services. The Chaplains also served a open community and at this point could and would not preach their specific brand of religion. I am very sad to think that this is changing. I believe that is wrong and the stories coming from the AF Academy about the evangelizing of open groups is harmful.
We always had a choice of attending a local church off base if we were not comfortable with the services in Chapel.
For several years I worked with the chapel music program and learned to respect the Chaplains. Among my favorite Chaplains was Chaplain Palmer - Morman - and Chaplain Rasberry - Southern Baptist. There was one Chaplain I learned not to trust or respect. As with all people there are good and bad.
There is a marvelous book called "The Conversion of Chaplain Cohen" by Anderson. It was written in the 1960's and tells the story of a Rabbi joining the AF and become a Chaplain.
If NPR comments that Evangelical Militay Chaplains are preaching to "the masses" and that is wrong, I agree. To a specific congregation - O.K. If the Chaplains don't like the rules - then get out of service.
Thanks for your comments. I always welcome engaging comments that are on topic. (spam is not on topic.)
I listen to NPR a lot. I enjoy their depth of reporting. I think they got this one wrong though. I like you, think they were tryng to connect the stories at the AF academy to general trends and problems in the Chaplain Corp. The implication that the lack of Roman Catholics or mainline Protestants is a result of some power grab is really a misplaced interpretation of those statistics. My interpretation of those statistics is that DoD is trying to recruit in such a way that the Chaplain Corps reflects the troop percentages adherence to their religion of choice. Those dog gone seminary students just won't beleive the Army, Navy or Air Force has a good deal for them. So I think thier story is wrong.
By the way, I agree with the melting pot theory. I just don't think I have to give up my beleifs to say that you can have yours. In fact, I think part of the greatness of America is the hybrid vigor that comes from our various backgrounds. But still that does not mean that I have to agree with everyone.
I have watched chaplains struggle with how to balance both their duty to God and country. I don't think I ever saw one cross the line and be disloyal to their goverment office. Reconciling the two is something that should be problematic. I think that is one reason a lot of men and women of various faiths don't become chaplains because of the tension between the two. Maybe those dog gone seminary student see it too.
The NPR story talked about the struggle between the tension between proclaiming a gospel and government regulations on the chaplaincy. I agree there is a natural tension there. However, living in that tension is what a mature chaplain must do regardless of faith. Otherwise, with no message, then you don't really have a chaplain. And each of us must weigh and consider each message we hear. Thank you for taking the time to evaluate mine.