HUFFINGTON POST – Military Chaplains: Religious Freedom in the Public Square

Published On: September 10, 2013|Categories: News|0 Comments|

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Recently a friend called to ask if I was familiar with Section 529 of House Rule 1960, a bill moving through Congress that could become a law. I told him that I wasn’t, and my friend replied that I ought to read this rule.

After doing some research and drawing from my experience as a former military chaplain, I was astounded to learn about the implications of Section 529 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014, also known as House Rule 1960, commonly described as “Protection of the religious freedom of military chaplains to close a prayer outside of a religious service according to the traditions, expressions, and religious exercises of the endorsing faith group.” As a person concerned about the Constitutional rights for religious freedom and liberty for all people, I was alarmed that there are some members of Congress who believe that we need to change law in the form of the United States Code, to enable military chaplains to offend and violate the religious freedom of others so that they can evangelize in the particular name of their god during military specific ceremonies.

This took me back to an experience with this sort of thing that occurred over 30 years ago. In 1980, after seven years of college and three years of parish ministry, I decided to return to active duty in the Navy. I began my military service in the 1960s as an enlisted man working as a logistics specialist. This time I would serve as a Navy chaplain.

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