Tag Archives: Military Chaplains

Changes In The Military Chaplaincy

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On June 4th, Military.com posted an article about the changes made to the military’s recognized religion list.

The article reports:

Military.com has learned that the Department of Defense, for the first time in almost 10 years, has dramatically reduced its number of recognized religious faiths and belief systems by approximately 180.

The reforms mark the first time the list has been officially revised since a memo was issued March 27, 2017, decreasing the total number of faiths from 211 to its new number of 31. The changes were iterated in a May 20, 2026, memorandum issued by the Under Secretary of War and signed by Anthony Tata, under secretary of defense for personnel and readiness of the United States, and obtained by Military.com.

This latest revision to the faith codes comes at the direction of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, according to the Tata-signed memo, done to “streamline the DoW collection of religious preferences collection for service members to enhance the delivery of targeted religious support from the Chaplaincy.” It calls for the previously instituted faith and belief codes to be revised within a 60-day period from the issuance of the memorandum.

“The new list will provide chaplains with clear, readily available information that will better enable them to anticipate the religious support needs of service members and to provide religious support activities that align with service members’ personal faith and practices,” Tata wrote.

He added that members will not be limited to the list of “religious affiliation codes” when selecting information for their dog tags. The revised list, according to documents obtained by Military.com, includes Agnostics, Buddhists, Hindus, Islam (Muslims), Judaism, Sikh, and a wide range of Christian-based groups like Baptists, Catholics, Lutherans and Methodists.

…This restructuring of faith codes, which help identify service members as well as the military in planning for appropriated religious coverage to include them, has now excluded minority faith/worldview groups including Atheists, Asatru, Deists, Druids, Eckankar, Heathens, Humanists, Magick, New Age churches, Pagan, Rosicrucianism, Shaman, Spiritualists, Troth, Unitarian Universalists and various Wiccans.

The First Amendment prevents a government-sponsored religion; it provides freedom for Americans to worship as they please. That being said, however, America was founded on a Judeo-Christian legal system and was at one point declared a Christian nation by the Supreme Court. Some of the religions no longer recognized involve practices that are illegal in the United States–such as animal sacrifice.

I think this move will make life much easier for military chaplains.

The First Amendment Allows The Free Exercise Of Religion–It Doesn’t Restrict It

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The First Amendment was designed to prevent the establishment of one religion sanctioned by the government. It was not designed to put obstacles in the way of people choosing to practice their religion.

Yesterday CNS News posted an article about a policy of the Trump administration designed to protect the rights of Americans to practice their religion.

The article reports:

Evangelical leader Franklin Graham praised Vice President Mike Pence for defending religious freedom at Veterans Affairs hospitals in a recent speech, where Pence said, “Under this administration, VA hospitals will not be religion-free zones.” 

In an Aug. 29 post on Facebook, Rev. Graham wrote, “‘VA hospitals will not be religion-free zones.’ Vice President Mike Pence spoke at the American Legion’s 101st National Convention yesterday about all that this administration is doing to help our nation’s military veterans.”

“He also addressed the issue of a current lawsuit in New Hampshire to remove the Bible of a World War II POW from a VA hospital’s ‘missing man’ table,” remarked Graham. “Vice President Pence said, ‘…under the last administration, VA hospitals were removing Bibles and even banning Christmas carols in an effort to be politically correct.

The article concludes:

“In 2014, the Navy Exchange Service Command issued a memo for the removal of Bibles in Navy Lodge guest rooms following a complaint from the Freedom From Religion Foundation,” reads the letter. “The Navy reversed course and announced that the Bibles would be replaced.  Similarly, the Establishment Clause does not require that you remove Bibles from the Missing Man Table displays.  The mere presence of a Bible coerces no one.”

At the Manchester Veterans Affairs hospital in New Hampshire there is a “missing man” memorial table that includes a Bible. In May, the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, headed by Michael Weinstein, filed a federal lawsuit to have the Bible removed. The litigation is ongoing.

“That sectarian Christian Bible bolted down to that POW/MIA table at the Manchester NH VAMC is a grotesque gang sign of fundamentalist Christian triumphalism, exceptionalism and supremacy, indeed a middle finger of unconstitutional repugnance to the plurality and separation of church and state guaranteed in the U.S. Constitution,” Weinstein told the Military Times.

Weinstein is well known in the military as someone who frequently uses lawsuits to end religious speech. Barack Obama appointed Mikey Wienstein to be a consultant to the Pentagon to develop new policies on religious tolerance, including a policy for court-martialing military chaplains who share the Christian Gospel during spiritual counseling of American troops. These are some of the policies that President Trump is quietly undoing.

Atheists In Foxholes?

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The demands placed on our military in the past fifteen years have been daunting. Most of our soldiers have made at least one trip to Afghanistan or Iraq (or both), and many have come home deeply affected by what they have seen there. A large percentage of these soldiers suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and the suicide rate among military war veterans is higher than the civilian population. You would think that the military would be encouraging its Chaplains to be a major force in the healing of these men. Think again.

CBN News is reporting today that Navy Chaplain Lt. Cmdr. Wes Modder will not be discharged from the Navy because of his religious views.

The article reports:

His commander, Capt. Jon Fahs, had been pushing for Modder’s ouster, citing comments Modder allegedly made in counseling sessions critical of premarital sex and homosexual relations.

In a letter, the Navy Personnel Command said the evidence doesn’t meet the standard of gross negligence or complete disregard for duty needed to boot out an officer. It also cited a lack of documentation in his personal record backing charges of poor performance.

“There was no record of counseling. There was no letter of instruction given to Chaplain Modder by the command and non-judicial punishment was not conducted,” one official told Military Times.

The Chaplain espoused the Biblical view of sex and marriage. As a Christian Chaplain, that is what I would expect him to do. Oddly enough, Jewish teaching and Islamic teaching also support his views on marriage, homosexuality, and premarital sex. Military Chaplains have been a tradition in America since America has had a military. They provide a necessary outlet for soldiers in difficult situations–either at home or away from home. It is a shame that the military wasted their time on this matter. The problem is not the Chaplain–it is his commander.