Military Chaplains Research Paper

Military chaplains are ministers to military personnel and generally their families and civilians working in the military. If you are like me, I had no idea what a military chaplains were before my research on them. The courts have never held provisions of the military chaplains by the armed forces because they believe it is unconstitutional. Some would argue that because they are religious leaders who are employed by and under the authority of the U.S. government that, that should be the very reason that military chaplains should not exist. Some, like me, believe that everyone, no matter what religious background you have, should be offered some type of spiritual need, regardless of religious affiliation. The arguments that the courts
might use to defend the military chaplain system is the first amendment. It simply says, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances”. By looking at the first amendment, it is all about freedom. When people who are serving our country they should be able to participate in the chaplain system because they are giving their lives to protect our country and if they need or want military chaplains then it is their right to have them. Another argument would be the U.S. Army Regulation 165-1, it states that “in striking a balance between the ‘establishment' and ‘free exercise' clauses, the Army chaplaincy, in providing religious services and ministries to the command, is an instrument of the U.S. government to ensure that soldiers' ‘free exercise' rights are protected. At the same time, chaplains are trained to avoid even the appearance of any establishment of religion."3 The regulation justifies chaplains' role in ceremonies outside the chapel since "Such occasions are not considered to be religious services”. These statements are not bias. They protect everyone, giving them what they need to focus of defending our country, which is a good enough reason for me why we should defend military chaplain systems.