Last week, in an announcement posted on X (formerly Twitter), Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said he will take steps to strengthen the armed forces' Chaplain Corps. The Hill quotes portions of Hegseth's remarks:
In an atmosphere of political correctness and secular humanism, chaplains have been minimized, viewed by many as therapists instead of ministers. Faith and virtue were traded for self-help and self-care....
If you need proof, just look at the current Army Spiritual Fitness Guide. In well over 100 pages, it mentions God one time. That’s it. It mentions ‘feelings’ 11 times. It even mentions ‘playfulness,’ whatever that is, nine times. There’s zero mention of virtue. The guide relies on new age notions...
These types of training materials have no place in the War Department. Our chaplains are chaplains, not emotional support officers, and we’re going to treat them as such....
This follows a hearing earlier this month by the government's Religious Liberty Commission on Religious Liberty in the Military. (See prior posting.) Last week, the Justice Department's Office of Public Affairs issued a Statement on the Department of War's Strengthening of the Chaplain Corps saying in part:
“The Religious Liberty Commission applauds Secretary Hegseth and the Department of War’s quick action to restore the military chaplaincy to its full strength and influence in our armed forces,” stated Religious Liberty Commission Chairman, Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick. “As we were reminded at our Commission hearing last week, the chaplaincy is foundational to the American military—a source of spiritual strength so that our servicemembers continue to serve as a force for good in the face of evil and oppression. Tragically, past administrations sought to undermine the spiritual and strategic role of the military chaplaincy.”
Last week, the American Humanist Association issued a press release criticizing Hegseth's action, saying in part:
Hegseth’s broadside against the Army Spiritual Fitness Guide – including putting scare quotes around “faith” traditions he doesn’t recognize or value – is an attack against any member of the military who doesn’t practice his form of conservative Christianity.
Hegseth tries to hide this by attacking “secular humanism.” But the irony is that, despite the fact that certified humanist chaplains serve Americans every day in hospitals, prisons, and college campuses across the country, they are not allowed to serve in the military.
Every single member of our military, regardless of their religious beliefs – Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, humanist, or anything else – deserves access to a chaplain who will support their well-being.
But it’s clear Hegseth doesn’t understand what this means – because his directive stands in direct contradiction to the Standards of Practice for Professional Chaplains agreed to by all credentialing bodies for chaplains. Those standards include a recognition that chaplaincy does involve emotional care – and emphasizes providing care for diverse beliefs, not mocking them....
[Thanks to Scott Mange for the lead.]
