True…but if any specific creed is denied a chaplain, then equal treatment before the law has been denied. If someone in the armed forces insists on an atheist chaplain, then he ought to have access to one.
I think it’s silly…but I think all religion is silly. If the constitution were interpreted the way I prefer, chaplains would not be permitted in the armed forces. (And “In God We Trust” would not be permitted on money.) But if you’re going to have chaplains at all, you can’t pick and choose (at least not too very obviously. If there aren’t any Jains in the US armed forces, I don’t suppose a Jain chaplain would be needed.)
There were atheist chaplains when I was in. At least one. He wore a cross on his collar, so he was nominally Christian, but was not secretive about his lack of faith.
If all chaplains did was perform religious services, I wouldn’t think they were a very good use of taxpayer money. But on the contrary, they do a lot more, and atheists shouldn’t be barred from doing those jobs just because they are traditionally assigned to a clergyman.
I can’t remember ever seeing one. But then I was in the Canadian military. I have no idea if they have them. But it would have bugged the hell out of me if we were down a soldier just to transport a god botherer.
My understanding is that the chaplains are cross-trained, so that if the only chaplain is a rabbi, he will do a Catholic mass, or a Baptist service or whatever. So I don’t see why an atheist chaplain can’t do the same thing.
A non-Catholic couldn’t perform a full Mass, since he’s not ordained by the RCC and can’t perform the Transubstantiation, which is required for a full Mass. He could perform services and non-Eucharistic programs, but not full Mass.
I doubt that. As jayjay points out, in the Catholic view only an ordained priest can celebrate a mass, so even if a Baptist minister or a rabbi were willing to go through the motions (which I doubt) the Catholics would not wish them to try. I doubt that a rabbi would be willing to celebrate any kind of Christian liturgy, and while Christian ministers would probably be happy to conduct multidenominational or interreligious prayer services, they would be slow to celebrate the liturgy of any denomination but their own.
But celebrating liturgies is a pretty small part of a chaplain’s work. All military chaplains will provide pastoral care to people of any religion or none, if sought or if welcome. If I’m not mistaken, that’s explicit in the job requirements.
I’m not so sure about the notion of an “atheist chaplain”, since atheism is defined negatively - you’re an atheist if you lack any belief in God. Simply not having a particular belief doesn’t, in itself, appear to give you anything new to bring to the chaplaincy party, so to speak. But humanist chaplains? Or chaplains representing other non-religious philosophies and communities? Certainly. Why not? Tbhey ahve them in hospitals and universities and the like, and in the armies of at least some other countries.
Chaplains have to be a clergyman in their faith group and endorsed as such by said faith group. Are their any organized atheist churches with trained clergy?
Couple of questions on that. All there has to be is ONE person in the military from a particular, uh…, creed and it would be his/her right to force the military to have a chaplain from that denomination or whatever?
And, can you explain how an atheist chaplain could offer spiritual advice to a service member? For instance, on such and such deployment, there is only one manning position for a chaplain, and low and behold, it’s an atheist chaplain. Can you explain the answer that chaplain would give to a troop asking “What is God’s plan for me?”
Chaplains offer spiritual advice among other things they do. If you want someone to do all the other things and NOT offer spiritual advice, the military already has those people. Is the problem you are trying to solve “It’s not fair! THEY get a chaplain, I want a chaplain too!” or is it “Who can best provide secular advice and guidance to the troops?” If the question is the second one, then there already exists people in the military to do that.
“God doesn’t exist so stop worrying about it”, I’d guess. What spiritual advice is expected from a Catholic to a Hindu or a Buddhist and why would it be better from that person than any other person who doesn’t believe in their faith? An atheist just disbelieves in one more faith than the typical believer.
The correct (true) answer is always the good one, although it may not be the liked one.
Be that as it may, how is a Hindu supposed to give ‘spiritual’ advice to a Catholic and why would that advice be any better than one given by an atheist? I’m sure an atheist can make shit up just as well as a Catholic priest about Ganesha’s plan for someone.
Do Catholic troops go to Hindu chaplains for spiritual advice? Do Christian troops in general go to Hindu or Buddhist or Scientology chaplains for spiritual advice?
You don’t have to believe in a God to be spiritual or religious. And atheists are not automatically against religion or spirituality, even if they don’t practice it themselves. This kind of conversation is generally about good listening, asking questions that prompt self-exploration, and tying that to spiritual perspectives that they questioner relates to. One might say:
"There are a number of schools of thought about this. Some believe that your path is preordained and you are fulfilling an important role, although you may mot be able to see how from your perspective. Some believe that we each play an active role in the fight between good and evil. And others believe that there is no single meaning, and it’s up to us to find meaning in our lives.
Do any of these ideas resonate with you? What does you religion or spiritual school of thought say about that question? Does that explanation make sense to you, or is there something about it that doesn’t seem to fit? Let’s explore why. What have your experiences taught you? What questions or internal conflicts do you still have?
Buddha said “There are only two mistakes one can make along the road to truth; not going all the way, and not starting.” I’d suggest you pray or meditate on this question. Religious ritual can also bring insight. People of your religion often do X. If you want to try something new, you can try ritual Z."
I don’t necessarily agree with what you are saying, but if I did, I fail to see how an already existing military psychologist or counselor could not offer the same “outsider” view of one’s religion.
Why the need for cross-training if they don’t expect people from other faiths talking with them? Also, I can imagine that the few non-Christian advisers are spread quite thin.