HUFFINGTON POST – Time to Embrace a Military Chaplaincy for All the Troops

Selected Article Excerpt:

Several years ago, the co-chair of the Forum on the Military Chaplaincy was standing in line in uniform waiting to be checked out of the Post Exchange. The gentleman behind him, who appeared to be retired military, said, “Chaplain, what do you think about bringing these Muslim chaplains into this man’s Army?” Chaplain Dodd answered, “That’s what free exercise of religion is all about, and I will welcome them.” The man shrugged and voiced his disapproval, and the chaplain simply replied, “Well you know, if the Muslim chaplain is not allowed to minister to his troops, then we might as well shut the military chaplaincy down, because none of us would have the right to be here either.” The cash register saved the day, and Dodd was on his way.

It just never occurred to this retiree that the military chaplaincy walks a thin and fragile line between church and state, securing the free exercise of religion for all of America’s service members while avoiding undue entanglement of church and state. Military chaplains exist for the sake of their service members, not the other way around. Every service member has a constitutional right to the free and unfettered exercise of their religious beliefs, without regard to dominant theologies, orthodox doctrines or privileged status.

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