Written by Don Byrd
The U.S. House of Representatives last week passed the Defense Authorization bill, including language added in the Senate addressing the issue of religious expression by military chaplains. Typically, chaplains are asked to perform their official duties using inclusive language that, as best as possible, ministers to a wide range of religious adherents among diverse military personnel. Some have argued this emphasis improperly restricts a chaplain’s freedom to express his or her own religious beliefs.
In response to that controversy, changes in the defense spending bill attempt to limit the military’s ability to make personnel decisions based on expressions of faith. Religion Clause provides the text of the relevant passage. The new language is in bold.
Unless it could have an adverse impact on military readiness, unit cohesion, and good order and discipline, the Armed Forces shall accommodate individual expressions of belief of a member of the armed forces reflecting the sincerely held conscience, moral principles, or religious beliefs of the member and, in so far as practicable, may not use such expressions of belief as the basis of any adverse personnel action, discrimination, or denial of promotion, schooling, training, or assignment.
The House amendments add further language beyond the Senate’s bill. They would require the military to report to Congress any communications with civilian groups, including religious liberty advocates, on the topic of religious liberty enforcement. The bill goes back to the U.S. Senate to consider the bill with the changes made in the House.
