Navy Asks Chaplains to Practice `Nonsectarian’ Religion in Public

c. 2006 Religion News Service WASHINGTON _ A new U.S. Navy policy has become another point of contention in an ongoing battle over the appropriate role of religion in military ranks. The Feb. 21 “instruction” from the secretary of the Navy has prompted protests at recent Washington events hosted by evangelical Christians and in a […]

c. 2006 Religion News Service

WASHINGTON _ A new U.S. Navy policy has become another point of contention in an ongoing battle over the appropriate role of religion in military ranks.

The Feb. 21 “instruction” from the secretary of the Navy has prompted protests at recent Washington events hosted by evangelical Christians and in a letter from a Virginia-based legal firm known for defending religious rights.


“I am a Navy chaplain and I pray in Jesus’ name,” said Navy Chaplain (Lt.) Gordon James Klingenschmitt, drawing a standing ovation at a “War on Christians” conference in Washington in late March.

While the Norfolk, Va.-based chaplain interprets the new rules as preventing him from praying as he wishes outside worship services, others say the rules justifiably call for greater inclusiveness under some circumstances.

Outside chapel services, “religious elements for a command function, absent extraordinary circumstances, should be nonsectarian in nature,” reads the instruction. It adds that “religious elements” included in such cases will occur under “the commander’s guidance.”

Klingenschmitt disagrees with the notion that military officials should be making such decisions.

“That’s not the commanding officer’s job,” said the chaplain, who is affiliated with a small evangelical denomination called the Evangelical Episcopal Church. “It’s the civilian bishop’s job and I answer to my civilian bishop.”

Lt. William Marks, a Navy spokesman, said of the new regulation, “There’s nothing in that new instruction anywhere that forbids anyone from praying to Jesus or praying in Jesus’ name.”

But Marks said when chaplains give an invocation at a ceremony marking a promotion or retirement, “we ask that they be inclusive.”

The regulation notes that chaplains have the right to conduct worship services “according to the manner and forms” of their religious organizations.


Klingenschmitt was joined by former Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore in a March 30 press conference outside the White House to criticize the new rules.

“What has been issued is an unlawful order,” said Moore, whose defiance about his placement of a Ten Commandments monument in a state courthouse led to his ouster from the bench.

In a letter to Navy Secretary Donald C. Winter, Rutherford Institute President John Whitehead said the new rules interfere with the free exercise of religion.

“Interpreted broadly, this policy prohibits Navy chaplains from using sectarian language in prayers in most situations other than formal worship settings,” Rutherford wrote in a March 29 letter. “Furthermore, the policy places the responsibility for determining what is and is not appropriate in such prayers on Navy commanders.”

Others who worry that a cultural war is being waged within military ranks say the call for inclusivity outside worship services is appropriate.

The Rev. Herman Keizer Jr., chairman of the National Conference on Ministry to the Armed Forces, notes that a Department of Defense directive calls for chaplains to agree to serve in a religiously diverse environment.


“There … is a changing demographic within the military that makes us acknowledge the fact that we have to attend more to the differences that we have and if we can find neutral language for our prayers that is not offensive, we can make the choice to use those,” he said.

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Editors: To obtain a photo of Navy Chaplain Gordon James Klingenschmitt, go to the RNS Web site at https://religionnews.com. On the lower right, click on “photos,” then search by subject or slug.

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