A group of religious denominations that provide chaplains to the U.S. military are calling for the establishment of new conscience protections for members of the chaplain corps.
Twenty-two chaplaincy endorsers have sent a joint letter to the chief chaplains of the Army, Navy, and Air Force calling for “broad, clear, and strong protections for conscience” for chaplains who believe in traditional sexual morality.
The letter comes on the heels of the action by the U.S. Congress and President Barack Obama to open the ranks of the Armed Forces to those who self-identify homosexuals. The religious groups state that this “protected status…creates an environment that is increasingly hostile to the many chaplains whose faith groups and personal consciences recognize homosexual behavior as immoral and unsafe.”
“Chaplain are instructors of conscience,” the letter states. “Chaplains have a moral responsibility to insure that when they preach, teach or counsel, they do so in accordance with their conscience and in harmony with the faith group by which they are endorsed…No American, especially those serving in the Armed Forces, should be forced to abandon their religious beliefs or be marginalized for holding to those beliefs.”
The religious denominations signing the joint letter included, among others, the Southern Baptist Convention, the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, the Evangelical Free Church, the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, and the National Association of Evangelicals.
The concern of Bible-believing chaplaincy endorsers was heightened recently when Navy officials announced that they would allow Naval facilities to be used for same-sex union ceremonies. Navy Rear Admiral Mark Tidd has temporarily suspended that new policy in the wake of Congressional outrage led by Missouri U.S. Representatives Todd Akin and Vicky Hartzler.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates recently made it clear what he thinks of the conscience rights of military personnel. At a recent informal session with a group of combat Marines in Afghanistan, he was asked the following question:
“Sir, we joined the Marine Corps because the Marine Corps has a set of standards and values that is better than that of the civilian sector. Now we have gone and changed those values. We have not given the Marines a chance to decide whether they wish to continue serving under that. Is there going to be an option for those Marines that no longer wish to serve due to the fact that their moral values have not changed?”
Secretary Gates had a one-word answer: No. “You’ll have to complete your enlistment just like everybody else.”
Gates’ boss, President Obama, has restated his support for the homosexual movement by declaring June as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month. The Federal Reserve Bank in Richmond, Virginia, has chosen to “honor” the presidential proclamation by flying the rainbow flag of the homosexual movement underneath the American flag outside its offices.
Click HERE TO SUPPORT Illinois Family Institute.
As little as $60 goes a long way toward protecting your values in Illinois!
Sign up as an IFI Ministry Partner for just $60/year, which is just $5 per month.
