'Don't Ask Don't Tell' and Military Chaplains

[unhappycamper]

'Don't Ask Don't Tell' and Military Chaplains
Chaplain Charles D. Camp,
Capt. John F. Gundlach
and Chaplain Jerry L. Rhyne
Posted: May 11, 2010 03:26 PM

Forty-one retired chaplains recently wrote the president and Secretary of Defense, imploring them not to repeal the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" statute. We find their core argument astonishing; i.e., any new law barring discrimination against gays and lesbians would violate the free-exercise clause of the 1st Amendment; it would infringe upon the chaplains' rights to discriminate in accordance with their fundamental religious belief that gays are "immoral," and that same sex relationships are "harmful and sinful."

Such a change, these evangelical chaplains argue, would "threaten" their religious liberty, and thwart "their ability to freely share their religious beliefs." Moreover, they contend chaplains would be forced to avoid or abandon key elements of their faith and practice, which they bemoan, is "the very antithesis of religious freedom."

We strongly disagree. The repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" would have absolutely no effect whatsoever on chaplains' duties, roles and responsibilities. The chaplain corps exists not for chaplains to practice exclusively their own religious beliefs, but to ensure that all service members, including chaplains, can exercise their faith. Military regulations ensure that chaplains, in fact, may preach and teach the theological and moral tenets of their distinctive faith groups, but only in the context of ministry and worship for those who voluntarily participate. Further, if a chaplain's theological or ecclesiastical views preclude performing pastoral ministries to which a service member is entitled, the chaplain remains duty bound to provide assistance to the service member through appropriate referral to another chaplain who can and will perform the requested services.

Chaplains are trained to be pluralistic -- to ensure that all service members can obtain spiritual guidance, counseling, and access to their religion in accordance with the tenets of their faith. Fully qualified clergy who are endorsed for the military chaplaincy by their denomination or faith group swear at the time of their commissioning to minister within the military's pluralistic and multicultural setting. They must respect the rights of others to hold and practice religious and moral values different from their own. The common denominator for all members of the military is the Uniform Code of Military Justice which governs behavior and conduct, though it does not attempt to regulate matters of religion and culture.

Perhaps these forty-one chaplains have lost sight of the purpose of the chaplain corps. They seem to believe the free exercise of religion as guaranteed by the 1st Amendment is their exclusive and absolute right without regard to the constitutional rights and liberties of the troops whom they are called to serve. How else can they argue, with apparent sincerity, that their own free exercise of religion supersedes anti-discrimination laws? Under such a theory, President Truman would have been unable to integrate blacks into the armed forces, for many chaplains then believed that integration was sinful, and against God's wishes. Years later, the military would not have been permitted to recognize interracial marriage, which many believed violated scripture. Or, what if another group of chaplains adhere to the scriptural punishment of death by stoning for children who talk back to their parents? Does their sincere religious belief shield them from criminal responsibility for throwing stones at a stubborn and disrespectful child?