From: "Brad Pardee" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
It sounds to me very much like the Navy has, in essence, said that a
person can only be a chaplain if they act as if they don't actually
believe anything. That doesn't sound like what 200+ years worth of
American fighting men and women were willing to die to defend.
*******
I don't think that 200+ years worth of Americans died in order to have a
Navy Chaplain attempt to indoctrinate their fellow soldiers into the
particular faith of that Chaplain. Seeking to protect the religious freedom
of all soldiers, and not just the priveledged few, hardly seems out of
accord with American values.
I am not familiar with the military chaplancy, but I am familiar with
hospital chaplains who work to serve the needs of all patients regardless of
their faith position--including chaplains working in sectarian hospitals
(most often Catholic). They do not find it necessary to impose their
beliefs on the patients they serve. Why should the military be different --
particularly when they are being paid by all citizens, not just their faith
cohort?
If the issue is simply the religious freedom of the chaplain, then we can
revert to the practices within hospitals that allow outside clergy to attend
to the special religious demands of their co-religionists?
David
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