As I mentioned the other day, the Navy Chaplain Appointment and Retention Eligibility Advisory board may finally admit a Humanist to its ranks. If that happens, Jason Heap would become the first military chaplain to meet the specific needs of non-religious soldiers. But Republican legislators are trying to put a stop to that.
Colorado Rep. Doug Lamborn argued that the “chaplain corps is historically a religious institution” and that allowing a Humanist chaplain would somehow be a disservice to soldiers. Mississippi Sen. Roger Wicker echoed that sentiment, saying the “Chaplain Corps serves religious needs, not philosophical preferences.” Even though religious beliefs are a kind of philosophical preference. Both legislators sent letters to Navy officials co-signed by dozens of their respective colleagues.
Wicker went further in a piece for Fox News’ website, saying that we must adopt a literal reason of the Chaplain Corps’ mission:
No one is arguing that atheists do not have the same First Amendment rights of free expression as their neighbors of Christian, Jewish, Muslim or other faiths. This is not the subject of scrutiny. The central question here is how an atheist chaplain can be expected to fulfill a role that, by its very nature, is supposed to serve the religious needs of our service members.
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This person’s application has already cleared the Navy Chaplain advisory board, putting it one step closer to being approved. Should this impending appointment of an atheist chaplain be made, it would put the very integrity of the Chaplain Corps’ religious mission at stake.
Wicker’s rant is nothing more than an essay laying out his ignorance. Heap is endorsed by the Humanist Society. He meets all the qualifications expected of religious chaplains. And — this is really important — while Humanism may be non-theistic, the Department of Defense officially added Humanism to its list of “Faith and Belief” groups last year. As far as the DoD is concerned, Humanism is a sincerely held religious belief and must be treated as such by officials.
Read the full story at the Friendly Atheist Blog
