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Military Prayer

A pattern of hostility to free speech - specifically the rights of Christians to pray - is on the rise in our country. We saw it in our nation’s public schools ... where prayer was officially banned. We have seen it in our workplaces. Now, our United States military seems to have "jumped on the bandwagon” ... with Air Force leadership recently releasing proposed guidelines that will restrict how Air Force chaplains can pray.

If approved, these guidelines may well be implemented throughout the entire Armed Forces. This is an outrage that we cannot allow! Already, it is documented that chaplains are "feeling the heat” to restrict their prayers and mask their faith. Christian chaplains are being told NOT to pray in the name of Jesus!

For many Christian chaplains, praying in the name of Jesus is a fundamental part of their beliefs. To suppress this form of expression would be a violation of their constitutional rights and religious freedoms. Furthermore, to censor Christian chaplains is a disservice to the thousands of Christian soldiers in the military who look to their chaplains for comfort, inspiration, and support ... just as military soldiers of other faiths look to their chaplains.

Again, we cannot allow these proposed guidelines to be passed. We cannot sit idly by while our honored Christian military chaplains are singled out and silenced. I have assembled a senior legal team at the ACLJ, including a 20-year military veteran who worked at the Pentagon. We are drafting a legal analysis and comments to be used in this process.

Thankfully, a group of Congressmen has joined together to call on the President to protect by Executive Order the constitutional right of military chaplains to pray according to their faith. In response to this outrageous and blatant religious intolerance and infringement of free speech rights, the ACLJ has embarked on a nationwide campaign to PROTECT PRAYER and the constitutional rights of military chaplains. In our Armed Forces, all faiths must be respected. Christian chaplains must be permitted to pray in the name of Jesus.

Lawmakers Say Pentagon Discriminates Against Christians In Military Chaplain Service

Conservative lawmakers in Congress are pressing President Bush to issue an executive order that they say would protect freedom-of-speech rights of military chaplains. Rep. Walter Jones (R-N.C.) is spearheading the effort to persuade the Bush administration to ease the Pentagon’s policies on prayer.

Jones will send a letter to the president tomorrow to make the case that Christian military chaplains in particular have been muzzled by the Department of Defense (DoD). The letter initiated by Jones has gathered 32 signatures. Jones told The Hill that he is expecting to have upwards of 50 signatures by tomorrow. Among those who signed is Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

House Armed Services GOP members who have endorsed the letter include Reps. Jim Ryun (Kan.), Todd Akin (Mo.), Trent Franks (Ariz.) and Mike Conaway (Texas). A Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, Rep. Mike McIntyre (N.C.), has also signed the letter. "We are disappointed and gravely concerned to learn that the Christian military chaplains are under direct attack and that their right to pray according to their faith is in jeopardy,” the letter says.

The lawmakers contend that the Air Force guideline calling for nonsectarian prayers "is merely a euphemism declaring that prayers will be acceptable so long as they censor Christian beliefs.” The conservatives’ criticism comes against the backdrop of religious scandals that have rocked the Air Force, forcing the service to revise its guidelines on religious tolerance.

The guidelines were developed after allegations that evangelical Christians wielded so much influence at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs that anti-Semitism and other forms of religious harassment had become pervasive. The new guidelines discourage public prayers on all but rare occasions. They also say that chaplains must be sensitive to those who do not welcome offerings of faith.

Conservative members of the House see the Air Force move as a precursor to Pentagon-wide policy. "If approved, those guidelines may well be implemented throughout the entire DoD,” the letter states. "We think it is extremely damaging, and that is denying the First Amendment rights of all of our chaplains,” Jones said. He noted that that the executive order would apply to chaplains of all faiths but that their focus is on Christian chaplains. "Current surveys in the military indicate that upwards of 80 percent of soldiers identify themselves as Christians, and such censorship of Christian beliefs is a disservice not only to Christian chaplains but also to hundreds of thousands of Christian soldiers,” the letter states.

Jones said that if Bush does not act on their demand, the lawmakers will approach the issue legislatively. "We believe the president has the authority to issue an executive order so that chaplains can pray in the name of the savior,” Jones said. "The president would do it much faster through executive order, and he has the authority to do that.” A DoD spokesperson said that the military’s chaplain corps is committed to the First Amendment rights protecting the free exercise of religion for all authorized people. The White House did not comment by press time.

Roxana Tiron. Lawmakers say Pentagon Discriminates Against Christians in Military Chaplain Service. The Hill. October 20, 2005

President Bush Asked To Overturn Prayer Rules In Military

A group of conservative Congressional representatives have asked President Bush to order the military to allow denominational prayer. In a letter to the president, the legislators suggested new Pentagon guidelines are mainly aimed at Christians. They were issued after a scandal at the Air Force Academy involving proselytizing by evangelical Christians, the Capitol Hill newspaper, The Hill, reported. "We are disappointed and gravely concerned to learn that the Christian military chaplains are under direct attack and that their right to pray according to their faith is in jeopardy," the letter says.

Rep. Walter Jones, R-N.C., initiated the letter and has gathered signatures from 32 representatives and senators. Most are Republicans, but Rep. Mike McIntyre, D-N.C., has also signed along with several of his Republican colleagues on the Armed Services Committee.

The letter argues requiring non-sectarian prayer interferes with military chaplains' First Amendment right to free speech and freedom of religion. The guidelines suggest that prayer should not be a part of routine meetings but can be used for special occasions, including military ceremonies.

United Press International. President Bush asked to Overturn Prayer Rules in Military. WASHINGTON, October 20, 2005.

Christian Lawmakers Want To Protect Military Chaplains' Speech

A group of Christian congressmen want a presidential order protecting military chaplains after receiving anecdotal evidence that the religious personnel have been punished for using overtly Christian language in public settings. Rep. Walter Jones, R-N.C., said he has received letters from chaplains, both stateside and deployed overseas, complaining that superior officers have criticized and even reprimanded them for using Bible verses and invoking the name of Jesus in memorial services, pre-mission remarks and other events outside of their religious services. "This is a First Amendment right,” Jones said. "Our chaplains should not have any second thoughts about how they should pray. Let their heart speak with what God puts in their mind to pray.”

Jones was joined Wednesday by five of the 35 House members who have agreed to sign a letter to President Bush asking for an executive order protecting "the constitutional right of military chaplains to pray according to their faith.” One senator, Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., has also pledged his support. At issue are proposed guidelines introduced by the Air Force in August that emphasize nondenominational prayers in military ceremonies, and similar warnings from the Defense Department to all chaplains not to "transform such non-faith-specific observances to reflect the chaplain’s denominational commitment.”

Pentagon spokeswoman Lt. Col. Ellen Krenke said the goal of the educational efforts is to "encourage all members of the Armed Forces to respect the religious views and practices of all members.” The Air Force regulations were released after an investigation into religious intimidation by Christian cadets at the service’s academy last spring. Jones said he believes those guidelines will form the basis of a new militarywide code of conduct, and said that already, chaplains in all services are feeling pressure to watch their words.

Rep. Todd Akin, R-Mo., called the restrictions a "nasty form of political correctness” that keeps the chaplains from truly performing their jobs. "This is against everything America has ever stood for,” he said. "I think these guys understand that a chaplain is making a petition to his own god,” he said. "I think it’s fine for a Jewish chaplain to pray to Yahweh or a Muslim chaplain to pray to Allah.”

The letter calls the requirement of nondenominational prayers "a euphemism declaring that prayers will be acceptable only so long as they censor Christian beliefs.” Jones did not release the names of the other members who will co-sign the letter, but he said that information will be made public by the end of the week.

Air Force interim public prayer guidelines

1. Public prayer should not usually be included in official settings such as staff meetings, office meetings, classes or officially sanctioned activities such as sports events or practice sessions.
2. Common sense — and mutual respect — should always be applied and extraordinary circumstances may drive exceptions.
3. Consistent with long-standing military tradition, a brief nonsectarian prayer may be included in nonroutine military ceremonies or events of special importance, such as changes of command, promotion ceremonies or significant celebrations where the purpose of the prayer is to add a heightened sense of seriousness or solemnity, not to advance specific religious beliefs. Military chaplains are trained to deal with such events.
4. In addition, a moment of silence for personal reflection does not require the same considerations as public prayer and may be appropriate in official settings.

God Answers Prayers--Military Edition: True Stories from People Who Serve and Those Who Love Them The authors share remarkable stories from brave soldiers who reveal how God was with them and answered their prayers during their often-dangerous times in uniform.

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