Atheist group urges Congress to allow humanist military chaplains

Jul. 22, 2014 - 04:06PM
By Meghann Myers
Staff writer

More than one in five service members do not identify with a particular religion, according to Defense Department statistics. To better serve them, an organization is working to expand the Chaplain Corps to include clergy who don’t believe in a god.

The American Humanist Association held a briefing Tuesday on Capitol Hill attended by congressional staffers and others as part of an effort to convince lawmakers that the armed services should officially recognize humanism within the chaplaincy.

Their message: Secular chaplains can be just as qualified for and capable of ministering to troops who believe in a god as theistic chaplains who work with service members of different religious backgrounds on a regular basis.

“Humanist chaplains would be expected to have Bibles, to have prayer books, to have the ability to guide others in prayer, according to the beliefs of their tradition,” said Jason Torpy, president of the Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers.

http://www.militarytimes.com/article/20140722/NEWS/307220061/Atheist-group-urges-Congress-allow-humanist-military-chaplains