New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary‘s Institute for Faith and the Public Square recently hosted an aptly named conference on chaplains in the US military:

Chaplaincy: Ministering in Caesar’s House

“There is a growing negative atmosphere toward evangelical Christianity,” said Lloyd Harsch, church history professor and institute director. “Under the guise of tolerance, everyone who holds a religiously informed position is now viewed as suspect because they’re [considered] intolerant.”

A panel specifically on Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell repeal included retired Chaplain (MajGen) Douglas Carver, former Army Chief of Chaplains.  Carver specifically noted “the rules have changed,” but it hasn’t effectively changed most chaplains’ desires to serve.  That’s not to say they have compromised their faiths:

[Retired Army Chaplain Jim] Hartz said. “Yeah, I’ve been honest. I’ve taken stands and told people what I believe. To say this is not a significant event is not what I’m trying to say, but we have faced these types of significant events throughout our careers.”

Retired Army Chaplain (BrigGen) Doug Lee, now of the Chaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty, said DADT repeal was part of a bigger plan:

The repeal of DADT was a part of a much larger attack on religious liberty in the United States, said Lee, who outlined several lawsuits from recent history to make his case.

He noted the case of a counseling student dismissed from her school because she would not personally counsel a homosexual as an example of a societal desire to stigmatize or change religious beliefs.  He offered encouragement, however:

People of faith, though, need not be discouraged by legal trends, Lee said. Instead, he said, they can find encouragement and inspiration in the Apostle Paul, Peter and other heroes of the faith who remained true to the Gospel in spite of pressure to compromise.