{"id":24394,"date":"2013-07-23T01:18:57","date_gmt":"2013-07-23T04:18:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/christianfighterpilot.com\/blog\/?p=24394"},"modified":"2016-11-26T01:12:25","modified_gmt":"2016-11-26T04:12:25","slug":"humanist-seeks-to-be-navy-chaplain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/christianfighterpilot.com\/blog\/2013\/07\/23\/humanist-seeks-to-be-navy-chaplain\/","title":{"rendered":"Humanist Seeks to be Navy Chaplain"},"content":{"rendered":"

Religion News Service’s Kimberly Winston* writes about Jason Heap, a humanist\u00a0trying to become a chaplain<\/a> in the US military.<\/p>\n

Heap\u2019s goal is not assured. He fits the requirements…The only thing he does not have is an endorsement from a religious organization approved by the Navy.<\/p>\n

And there\u2019s the rub: Heap is a Humanist…The Humanist Society \u2014 like all organizations that represent nonbelievers \u2014 is not among the Department of Defense\u2019s list of approximately 200 groups allowed to endorse chaplains.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Ultimately, the article does little more than try to keep the concept of “atheist chaplains”<\/a>\u00a0(which have been discussed ad nauseum<\/a>) in the media, and it says little new.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, the article\u00a0does include a fascinating response from DoD spokesman LtCmdr Nate Christensen on “why there are no nonbelievers in the chaplaincy:”<\/p>\n

The department does not endorse religion or any one religion or religious organization, and provides to the maximum extent possible for the free exercise of religion by all members of the military services who choose to do so.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The article completely ignores the response, an apparent\u00a0acknowledgement of its cryptic nature.\u00a0 It turns out, though, that Christensen actually answered their question very clearly:<\/p>\n

[The military] provides…for the free exercise of religion<\/strong> by all members of the military services who choose to do so<\/strong>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The US military provides for the free exercise of religion<\/em> for any\u00a0atheist, humanist, or others like them who\u00a0choose<\/em> to exercise<\/em> a religion.\u00a0 They are free, of course, to exercise their non-religion — but the military’s support for that falls outside the chaplaincy.\u00a0 That’s why there are (officially)\u00a0no non-believers in the chaplaincy.<\/p>\n

Unofficially, there are.\u00a0 The article\u00a0claims there are two US military chaplains serving with Christian endorsements who are actually non-theists:<\/p>\n

\u201cChaplain Mitch,\u201d a military chaplain since the mid-2000s, would not give his full name. He is endorsed by a Christian organization, but he\u2019s come to identify as a Humanist and would change endorsements, if permitted…<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It is difficult to understand how\u00a0Chaplain “Mitch” can serve his congregants or interact\u00a0with his ecclesiastical sending body with integrity, given his public statements.<\/p>\n

Atheist activist Jason Torpy also features prominently in the article, sensationally claiming<\/p>\n

The military includes atheists, humanists and people with nontheistic perspectives and the military currently has no way to service them…<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It’s unclear what he means by “service them,” but all military members have equal access to chaplains or other counsellors or advocates they may seek out.<\/p>\n

Supposedly, “atheism” (or its other non-theistic denominations) is as much a\u00a0religion as\u00a0not-playing-soccer is a sport.\u00a0 An atheist asking to be a chaplain, then, is like asking to be a not-playing-soccer coach.\u00a0 Make sense to you?<\/p>\n

*Winston’s\u00a0prior articles on atheism<\/a> were apparently spurred by a donation to her employer<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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