Chaplains Teach Leaders the Value of Faith
Chaplains at the 386th Air Expeditionary Wing — at an “undisclosed location” — kicked off their first Faith Works leadership forum in the form of a luncheon attended by commanders, chiefs, and senior NCOs. Their goal? Help these senior leaders
gain a deeper understanding and appreciation for how faith can improve the everyday lives of Airmen, increase resiliency and contribute to mission effectiveness.
The mission is admirable and notable because the military so infrequently notes the virtues of the faith of its troops — something this program explicitly does [emphasis added]:
The research behind Faith Works suggests that spirituality and religion play an important role in improving health in every domain of comprehensive Airman fitness.
AFCENT Command Chaplain (Col) Randy Kitchens also noted the key link between religious liberty and the mission [emphasis added]:
“Faith Works is good for all,” said Chaplain Kitchens. “It’s facilitating the freedom of religion and in doing so, that will help the Air Force fly, fight and win.”
Even better, Chaplain Kitchens has buy-in from the 386th AEW commander [emphasis added]:
“I am excited about what Faith Works is going to do for the Air Force,” said Col. Charles D. Bolton, the 386th AEW commander. “It’s about making us better, stronger and more capable to execute the mission.”
Hard to make a better argument for promoting military religious freedom.
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” “It’s about making us better, stronger and more capable to execute the mission.””
Well, that’s the claim. Whether it has anything to do with reality or not is another question. After all, “religious freedom” appears to mean different things to different people. Someone without any religious faith at all is perfectly capable of ‘executing the mission’, and any evaluation, methodology, or goal that doesn’t recognize that, or interferes with that person, is therefore likely a *negative*.
It’s easy to say “it’s abotu the mission” — but, as this site has claimed, is the mission the mission of the Air Force, or of the “missionaries” in it?
Actually, Steven, the question has been answered for millennia and is routinely affirmed via abundant secular research.
As Harvard professor Tyler Vanderweele suggests, from a public health perspective, religious participation is like a miracle drug.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2016/10/28/religion-church-attendance-mortality-column/92676964/?hootPostID=8541c7962aa2fbe685702b610240103d
@Jacob I am truly impressed that such a “miracle drug” conclusion is drawn from studying those 68-101 years old, as you’ll see from the study.
So, no, that’s not “abundant secular research” — that’s one study, way outside the target group in question, and with all sorts of possible answers.
The question remains open, to put it mildly, and if that’s the best you’ve got, I am truly *unimpressed*.
Steven,
The USA Today article is necessarily brief yet representative, but you either didn’t read the whole thing or you are intentionally misrepresenting what is there. You’ll note that each highlighted link in the text links to another representative study (not an exhaustive series of studies). That’s intentional due to space limitations, but you probably knew that.
Give it another go. As you do, note that Tyler Vanderweele is a premier statistician, in addition to his role as professor of public health at Harvard. When he examines the data and draws these conclusions, only a closed-minded science-denier can remain unimpressed.
Dr Harold Koenig conducts and evaluates similar research in his role as a professor of psychiatry at Duke. Here’s a link to one of his more extensive literature reviews, which, again, is merely representative, not exhaustive.
https://www.hindawi.com/journals/isrn/2012/278730/
There are plenty more studies where these came from, and the data points to the value of communal religious participation, irrespective of religion. The commander quoted in the original post is simply acknowledging the undeniable conclusion drawn from the weight of the data.
He who eyes to see, let him see what the research says to the skeptic.