Chaplain (Lt. Col. Theodore “TJ” Jenney, CAP
Summary:
INTRO
- Importance of Chaplain’s Role in Diversity and Pluralism
- Airmen and Spiritual Strength Part of Resiliency and Readiness
- “Faith and religious freedom were fundamental to the founding of this Nation. Chaplains are part of our profession of arms and have a unique charter:
- to minister to those who share their specific faith,
- to facilitate ministry to those of other faiths,
- and to care for all – including those whose spiritual strength does not come from religious belief.
- Our chaplains should set the example for mutual respect among different faiths and beliefs. Service Before Self.” – Chief’s Site Picture 28 Jun 05
PLURALISM
- Religious Pluralism: (AFCCC) – “a climate of mutual respect and understanding and cooperative coexistence in which members of different religious groups, denominations, churches, orders, affiliations or persuasions are able to exercise the freedom of practicing their religion at the same time”
- Religious Accommodation–Fostering Religious Pluralism (Chaplains Champion Pluralism)
DIVERSITY
-
- Air Force Nondiscrimination Policy:
Unlawful discrimination against military members is any unlawful action that denies equal opportunity to persons or groups based on their race, color, sex (including sexual harassment), national origin, religion, or sexual orientation. The right to non-discrimination on the basis of religion includes the right to reasonable accommodation of one’s religious beliefs and practices. (AFPD 36-27, March 2019)
-
- DIVERSITY: “A force multiplier in accomplishing the AF mission” (USAF Strategic Roadmap 2013, p. 6)
- AF Strategic Roadmap’s Five Priorities
- CONSTITUTIONAL MANDATE
- Establishment Clause and Free Exercise Clause
- Chaplains–Defenders of the First Amendment for all Airmen Advocates for their religious rights
TENSIONS WITHIN A PLURALISTIC SETTING
RESOURCES
CONCLUSION
- Recap: Importance of Chaplain’s Role in Diversity and Pluralism
______________________________________
INTRO
The chaplain’s role in the armed forces as well as CAP involves both what is said as well as what we do–how we act, and therefore one of the most important things we can do is not only promote and support diversity and pluralism but also to be role models as individuals and as the Chaplain Corps itself.
Chaplains help provide spiritual strength to airmen which is a vital part of resilience and is also a vital component of readiness for our troops. It is foundational that chaplains provide and strengthen this resource to the best of their ability to all of our service men and women regardless of their faith background. The Chief’s Site Picture puts this succinctly:
“Faith and religious freedom were fundamental to the founding of this Nation. Chaplains are part of our profession of arms and have a unique charter:
- to minister to those who share their specific faith,
- to facilitate ministry to those of other faiths,
- and to care for all – including those whose spiritual strength does not come from religious belief. Our chaplains should set the example for mutual respect among different faiths and beliefs. Service Before Self.” – Chief’s Site Picture 28Jun05
Therefore, it is important that chaplains set a tone of acceptance of diversity and pluralism with mutual respect and professionalism to members of the armed forces and the community as well as to other colleagues in the Chaplain Corps.
PLURALISM
Some terms are important to a proper understanding of pluralism and diversity. First, Religious Pluralism: (AFCCC) is “a climate of mutual respect and understanding and cooperative coexistence in which members of different religious groups, denominations, churches, orders, affiliations or persuasions are able to exercise the freedom of practicing their religion at the same time.” Furthermore, Religious Accommodation–Fostering Religious Pluralism is the idea that Chaplains should champion pluralism and do their best not only to respectful, understanding and cooperative but also do everything that they can to accommodate other faith leaders and people of other faiths and do all they can to accommodate and facilitate not only their own beliefs but also the beliefs of others. There is at times a fine line between evangelizing or inviting others to faith in an open manner, on the one hand, and proselytizing or pressuring others to faith, on the other hand. The latter sets the wrong tone. Invitation is proper, where pressuring is not. Being disrespectful or demeaning of any faith or no faith is never appropriate. Again, chaplains need to set the example for encouraging and supporting pluralism both within the Air Force Total Force including the Air Force Auxiliary as well as the Chaplain Corps itself.
DIVERSITY
The second important concept for chaplains is diversity. Diversity acknowledges that while there are many things that we share, we are also diverse in respect to race, gender, sexual orientation, national origin and religion as well as many other factors. A healthy view of diversity includes that diversity can strengthen teams by bringing diverse gifts and talents and perspectives into a unified purpose, the same as a high-performance sports team. Diversity is also guarded by the Air Force Nondiscrimination Policy which states:
“Unlawful discrimination against military members is any unlawful action that denies equal opportunity to persons or groups based on their race, color, sex (including sexual harassment), national origin, religion, or sexual orientation. The right to non-discrimination on the basis of religion includes the right to reasonable accommodation of one’s religious beliefs and practices.” (AFPD 36-27, March 2019)
The Air Force also acknowledges that DIVERSITY can be “A force multiplier in accomplishing the AF mission” (USAF Strategic Roadmap 2013, p. 6). In fact, the Air Force’s Strategic Roadmap’s Five Priorities highlight diversity:
- INSTITUTIONALIZE: Diversity
- ATTRACT: High-quality, talented diverse individuals
- RECRUIT: High-quality, diverse individuals
- DEVELOP: A high-quality, talented and diverse Total Force
- RETAIN: A high-quality, diverse Total Force
Religious diversity is also safeguarded by the United States Constitution: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof” known as the Establishment Clause and Free Exercise Clause.
Chaplains-should therefore be defenders of the First Amendment for all Airmen and advocates for the religious rights of everyone. Naturally, there will always be some tensions within a pluralistic setting. Some tensions include a range of issues that are multi-faceted and involve often changing public opinion and sometimes religious opinions.
TENSIONS WITHIN A PLURALISTIC SETTING:
- Maintaining One’s Religious/Denominational Practices and Faith Convictions While Cooperating with Others
- Finding Creative Ways to Minister and Support Others When Called Upon
- Being Inclusive v. Exclusive
- Evangelizing v. Proselytizing
- Public Prayer in a Secular Setting
- Differing Views of Gender
This is not always an easy course to navigate as personal or religious concerns vary with but learning to work together collaboratively is important and even imperative. We can all exercise the core value of appropriate respect for others even if views differ. Some excellent resources include:
- USAF Chaplain Corps website
- Military Chaplains Association (Ecumenical/Interfaith)
- Forum on the Military Chaplaincy (Interfaith)
- Chaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty (Christian)
- Harvard University Pluralism Project
CONCLUSION
The chaplain’s role in the total force including CAP/Air Force Auxiliary involves both what is said as well as how we act, and therefore one of the most important things we can do is not only promote and support diversity and pluralism but also to be role models as individuals and as the Chaplain Corps itself.
Chaplains and Religious Support Staff help provided spiritual strength to airmen which is a vital part of resilience, which is also a vital component of readiness for cadets and seniors as well as our troops. It is foundational that chaplains and chaplain’s assistants provide and strengthen this resource to the best of their ability to all our service men and women regardless of their faith background. Diversity and pluralism make our country better, our Air Force Total Force better, and the Chaplain Corps itself better, therefore we should do all we can to promote, support and encourage the free practice of faith for everyone.
______________________________________
The Civil Air Patrol position on diversity and inclusion may be found here: https://www.gocivilairpatrol.com/about/diversity-and-inclusion. This page also includes a link to the Annual Nondiscrimination Policy Memo which may also be found here: https://www.gocivilairpatrol.com/members/publications/indexes-regulations-and-manuals-1700