Let's Permit Military Chaplains to Pray According to Their Faith

We owe our men and women who serve in the Armed Forces a debt of gratitude.  They leave their families and put their lives on the line defending our freedoms around the globe.  That is why we became so concerned about an issue that surfaced recently in the military reports that it is becoming increasingly difficult for Christian chaplains in the military to use the name of Jesus when praying.

The concern was amplified when the Air Force released proposed guidelines that would restrict how Air Force chaplains can pray guidelines, that if approved, could very well be applied to all branches of the military.

At the American Center for Law and Justice, we have heard from members of the military many expressing concern that chaplains are being instructed on what to say (and what not to say) when they pray.  These concerns also made their way to Capitol Hill and to the offices of Rep. Walter B. Jones (R-NC) who spearheaded a Congressional effort to bring this to the attention of President Bush.

In a letter to President Bush signed by some 75 members of Congress, Rep. Jones wrote:  While some military members may find certain prayers to be offensive and wrongly claim that they are not non-pluralistic, we believe these restrictions raise constitutional issues involving the Establishment, Free Exercise and Free Speech Clauses of the First Amendment. . . Officially inhibiting or defining what chaplains can and cannot say in effect establishes an official religion and burdens our militarys chaplains right of free speech.  The letter concludes:  We are requesting that you, as Commander-in-Chief, protect by Executive Order the constitutional right of military chaplains to pray according to their faith.

At the ACLJ, we couldnt agree more.  We joined with members of Congress on this critical issue and launched a national petition campaign which received more than 160,000 signatures from Americans across the nation calling on President Bush to protect military prayer.

Military chaplains play a vital role in providing comfort and spiritual support for our men and women who serve this country protecting our freedoms.  The fact is that chaplains have a constitutional right to adhere to the religious expressions of their faith and exercise them freely without censorship.  For Christian chaplains to refrain from praying in the name of Jesus as some have suggested represents a serious disservice not only to the chaplains but to the many Christian service men and women who turn to their chaplains for comfort, inspiration, and support just as service members of other faiths look to their chaplains. 

In addition to working with members of Congress and conducting a national petition campaign in support of military prayer, the ACLJ also provided the Air Force with a legal analysis of the proposed guidelines which would restrict how Air Force chaplains can pray.  Our analysis concluded that Air Force chaplains and all military chaplains have a constitutional right to pray according to their faith.  We recommended that the Air Force abide by legal precedent which supports the constitutionality of faith-specific prayer for military chaplains.

And while we agree that the Air Force must be tolerant of all faiths, we pointed out that it should not discriminate against the Christian faith.  In our legal analysis for the Air Force, we concluded:  It is a given that the majority religious faith in the United States (and, hence, in the Air Force) is the Christian faith.  As such, it is the Christian message that will simply by virtue of the sheer numbers of its adherents be foremost among the religious sentiments publicly expressed in the Air Force.  That does not mean that the Air Force is favoring the Christian faith merely because it is so visible, and the Air Force must always remember that its support of an Airmans free exercise rights does not mean that the Air Force is establishing religion.  Facilitating the free exercise rights of Christians (and of other religious groups) is an Air Force responsibility and, without more, does not implicate the Establishment Clause.  In fact, the Supreme Court has noted that [w]e are a religious people whose institutions presuppose a Supreme Being. [The Government] sponsor[s] an attitude . . . that shows no partiality to any one group and that lets each flourish according to the zeal of its adherents and the appeal of its dogma.  (Zorach v. Clausen, 1952)  The bottom line seems to be that one should respect and treat others the same that one would like to be respected and treated.

As Rep. Jones told me:  Our chaplains should not have any second thoughts about how they should pray.  Let their hearts speak with what God puts in their minds to pray.