Posted on Nov 26, 2014
What Role Does Religion Play Within Our Military?
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With member of the military identifying with 98 different religions, it is evident our Armed Forces is extremely diverse. Unfortunately, religious differences sometimes cause feelings of animosity between service members. Are you less likely to trust another service member who does not identify with the same religion as you?
Religion
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Command Post
Posted 11 y ago
Responses: 138
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Seems to me that there should be no proscribed religion. However, because of what we do, individual religious practices (consistent with good order and discipline) should be encouraged for the resiliency of the Force.
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Religion is your Faith in YOUR God If you are having an issue I suggest you contact your Chaplin and have him explain your Faith to you again. All of the Religions I have studied save one are predicated on treating ALL humans with compassion and respect. If you are a member of the one exception that I have studied I suggest you do some soul searching and see where it leads you.
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Am I the only one that finds issues with separating out Christian, Baptist, Methodist, Protestant and Roman Catholic as different religions? There are most certainly differences in doctrine and practice, but all, arguably, carry the same belief in God and Jesus Christ.
As one who identifies as Christian, I don't consider Roman Catholics, Baptists, Methodists or Protestants to be any less Christian than myself.
After all, the difference is what is in the heart and only God can judge that.
As one who identifies as Christian, I don't consider Roman Catholics, Baptists, Methodists or Protestants to be any less Christian than myself.
After all, the difference is what is in the heart and only God can judge that.
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Well, as a follower of Jesus, I think the statement "Unfortunately, religious differences sometimes cause feelings of animosity" means you're doing it wrong :-) - at least if you take Jesus as an example seriously. I've read through the bible in it's entirety and find no place ever that Jesus talked with animosity toward anyone, ever - and he KNEW if they were of a different belief! :-)
In both the old & new testament, there are many examples of God demonstrating His love for all people - never animosity.
For what it's worth, I would never let anything come before me trusting another military member with my life (and I would hope the same in return) unless they proved they were not worthy of that trust (the actions of Bergdahl comes to mind) - and their religious beliefs would not be a factor for me at all.
In both the old & new testament, there are many examples of God demonstrating His love for all people - never animosity.
For what it's worth, I would never let anything come before me trusting another military member with my life (and I would hope the same in return) unless they proved they were not worthy of that trust (the actions of Bergdahl comes to mind) - and their religious beliefs would not be a factor for me at all.
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We are a nation founded on several principles one of them being religious freedom. Our military protects the principles important to the citizens of the United States of America. That being said it is an important part of the military, but it is a principle for which we are all responsible to one another to accomplish the mission and respect one another's differences of opinion and beliefs. The United States military has been at the forefront of protecting our freedoms and every non-believer gets that "foxhole faith" when it hits the fan. So whether you believe in God, Allah, Buddha... are Christian, Muslim, Hindi, Agnostic, Aetheistic... your religious beliefs as a service member do play an important part in who you are and what you are willing to do.
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COL Ted Mc
CW4 Laird Culver You say "We are a nation founded on several principles one of them being religious freedom." which, indeed, sort of how it all worked out.
However you do have to remember that almost all of the American Colonies had "state supported (but not 'established') churches" at the time of the American Revolution and that several of the American Colonies actually DID HAVE "established" churches at the time of the American Revolution.
Philosophically, the majority of the Founding Father did not have any problem with the United States of America having an "established" religion/church BUT they all had a great distaste for that "established" religion/church NOT being the one that they belonged to. As they couldn't reach an agreement on which religion/church was to be "The One True Church" they adopted the only sensible fall-back position which was "If not mine then DAMN WELL NOT YOURS".
You also have to remember that the US government has made the practice of at least one religion (and a "Christian" one at that) illegal - admittedly that religion is NOW legal to belong to and practice.
PS - "Allah" is Arabic for "God" just as "femme" is French for "woman". Those who think that Muslims don't believe in "God" must also believe that there are no "women" in France.
However you do have to remember that almost all of the American Colonies had "state supported (but not 'established') churches" at the time of the American Revolution and that several of the American Colonies actually DID HAVE "established" churches at the time of the American Revolution.
Philosophically, the majority of the Founding Father did not have any problem with the United States of America having an "established" religion/church BUT they all had a great distaste for that "established" religion/church NOT being the one that they belonged to. As they couldn't reach an agreement on which religion/church was to be "The One True Church" they adopted the only sensible fall-back position which was "If not mine then DAMN WELL NOT YOURS".
You also have to remember that the US government has made the practice of at least one religion (and a "Christian" one at that) illegal - admittedly that religion is NOW legal to belong to and practice.
PS - "Allah" is Arabic for "God" just as "femme" is French for "woman". Those who think that Muslims don't believe in "God" must also believe that there are no "women" in France.
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SGT(P) Chris Maroni
At my last promotion board I was asked about my religion, or lack of religion. The MSG was holding my ERB in his hands and asked if I would allow a christian Soldier to attend church. I said of course, it is his right to do so. He continued to push the fact, and then asked me if I knew why he was asking about this. I said "Because my ERB says Atheist and that concerns you for some odd reason, MSG" The CSM moved the discussion on to the next board member.
As an Atheist I have no issue with whatever religion, faith, belief system you chose to follow as long as it does no harm to others or affect the unit cohesion. A Soldier of mine put it best, he said that his mother always told him that religion was like a penis. It's fine to have, just don't whip it out and shove it down people's throats.
The only issue that I have with religion in the military is the mandatory opening and closing of every damn ceremony with a prayer. I respect the right to prayer. I will fight to the death defending your right to pray. Why am I forced to "pretend" to pray by bowing my head when the Chaplain says "Let us Pray"? I have been told it is out of respect for others, but where is the respect for me in this situation? As Christians, would it be OK for you to pretend to pray to Allah so as to not offend anyone around you? I will not bow my head, and get to share in that moment with other Atheists as we make eye contact and give the slight head nod to each other.
As for the whole "no Atheists in foxholes" thought.... False. I wasn't praying when I was getting shot at, I was doing something useful like returning fire and developing a plan. I am sure that was more effective than asking for help from a God.
As an Atheist I have no issue with whatever religion, faith, belief system you chose to follow as long as it does no harm to others or affect the unit cohesion. A Soldier of mine put it best, he said that his mother always told him that religion was like a penis. It's fine to have, just don't whip it out and shove it down people's throats.
The only issue that I have with religion in the military is the mandatory opening and closing of every damn ceremony with a prayer. I respect the right to prayer. I will fight to the death defending your right to pray. Why am I forced to "pretend" to pray by bowing my head when the Chaplain says "Let us Pray"? I have been told it is out of respect for others, but where is the respect for me in this situation? As Christians, would it be OK for you to pretend to pray to Allah so as to not offend anyone around you? I will not bow my head, and get to share in that moment with other Atheists as we make eye contact and give the slight head nod to each other.
As for the whole "no Atheists in foxholes" thought.... False. I wasn't praying when I was getting shot at, I was doing something useful like returning fire and developing a plan. I am sure that was more effective than asking for help from a God.
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Much like any other aspect of your bias, your religion colors how you see the world, how you think people ought to treat each other, what you think is right and wrong (personally) and where you think you're going when you die. I don't think religion is the cause of conflict but it can be the reason for it and I don't think differences in religions degrade readiness. Fortunately, in the military, we have standards of character as well as standards of conduct. In the Army, we call them the Army Values. It doesn't matter what you believe personally, when you voluntarily enter the Army, you're supposed to live your life in accordance with those 7 values. If every Soldier were to do that, what they believed before he or she entered becomes less of an issue. The problem isn't the fact that one Soldier may be Mormon while the other is Wiccan. The problem is when either of those two belief systems get in the way of either Soldier doing his or her job.
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PVT Bryan Carver
I was just checking:) But you see what I mean....it is definitely an argument when you ask what role does religion play within our military. It is part of the oath we "Soldiers, Marines, Sailors and Airmen" solemly swore to uphold and defend.
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MAJ (Join to see)
Sgt Bower I omitted it and said " so help me Gods" because I believe there is more then one. I personally follow Freya. Norse religion and being a warrior go hand in hand, however I am also a healer and sworn to hurt no other or cause harm to another. Fine line I must walk, but if it was my life or theirs I would do what has to be done.
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SPC Stewart Smith
MSG Bryan - "so help me god" was not part of my oath. When we were taking the oath we were told not to say it if we did not want to. I did not say it. It played no part in my military service.
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I find it interesting that the basic poll for this article breaks down denominations not religions. Roman Catholic, Methodist, Baptist, Lutheran, etc., are all Christian denominations. Buddhism, Muslim, Jewish, among the others are differing religions. As most of these responses have said, if it does not affect the completion of the mission it should not matter. Professionals should be able to put differences aside for the good of the organization.
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CPT Jason Torpy
I guess they're denominations but baptists and methodists and lutherans and catholics and mormons have some pretty serious disagreements about what their religious means. Heck, Southern Baptists and American Baptists disagree on a lot. I think they've broken it down into manageable pieces. It would be more wrong to claim that Catholics and Mormons and Bible Churches are all preaching the same gospel.
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Lt Col (Join to see)
Emo Philips - Golden gate bridge (1987, official sub ita)
Emo Philips racconta il tentativo di salvare un aspirante suicida sul Golden gate Bridge di San Francisco. Traduzione ufficiale dei ComedySubs (www.comedysub...
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COL (Join to see)
Gentlemen: I can only speak from my experience but the joy of serving my nation in uniform is that all those "pretty serious disagreements" became things of intellectual and interesting discussion (in and out of garrison) but had nothing to do with the sacrifice and commitment to mission accomplishment each member gave, some with their lives. Let us not diminish that through glib disagreement.
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SPC Stewart Smith
There are more 35,000 different sects of christianity. more than 35,000 different sects that say the others are wrong. Only for political reasons were 'christians' united under the same umbrella. If it weren't for political reasons, protestants would still be completely against baptists and baptists completely against lutherans.
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I don't believe religion is the "be all, end all" trust factor when looking at the person next to you. It is the ability to believe in a higher power and that we don't all have the answers. Essentially when we joined the military, we were supposed to be buying in to something higher than yourselves and while not all leaders need to believe in a god, I find it important to see the purpose of believing in something higher plays a role in. I try not to discuss religion unless someone asks me about what I believe in but at the same time, I make it clear that I believe in something, like our Core Values for the USAF. Sounds corny, maybe even unbelievable but this belief has served me well in my almost eight years of service.
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It's a question that echos the What nationality are you?
A while back, we all said American.
Now everybody is an adlective American. That is, Italian American/ African American, German American... and most if us are several generations removed from the Country we identify as. Now most people deal with others superficially. That is to say, they group identify and broker no middle ground. Whether political or Religious, the wall themselves in with the group they identify as and don't want to discuss most anything with a person that isn't allied with their group.. i mean they only see things the group's way . Any other way is just crap. And those that vote differently are just crap too.
And they are in the military . Tell me now, how many people believe party over Country.
How many of us , yes i've done this too, are solely devoted to group-think?? These types of people Are not only in the military, and at all ranks, and they HATE the people from the opposing party. True Hate. They wish them dead and all.
Tell me will they defend against someone of there group that shoot up the populace due to opposing political beliefs... or would they let fheir member of the group escape?? What help would they give civilians in a Rally for the opposing view?? What the hell are they doing serving in a position of any type in a Military??
A while back, we all said American.
Now everybody is an adlective American. That is, Italian American/ African American, German American... and most if us are several generations removed from the Country we identify as. Now most people deal with others superficially. That is to say, they group identify and broker no middle ground. Whether political or Religious, the wall themselves in with the group they identify as and don't want to discuss most anything with a person that isn't allied with their group.. i mean they only see things the group's way . Any other way is just crap. And those that vote differently are just crap too.
And they are in the military . Tell me now, how many people believe party over Country.
How many of us , yes i've done this too, are solely devoted to group-think?? These types of people Are not only in the military, and at all ranks, and they HATE the people from the opposing party. True Hate. They wish them dead and all.
Tell me will they defend against someone of there group that shoot up the populace due to opposing political beliefs... or would they let fheir member of the group escape?? What help would they give civilians in a Rally for the opposing view?? What the hell are they doing serving in a position of any type in a Military??
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SGT (Join to see): "nor prohibit the free exercise thereof".... I'm glad you're so anti-freedom? Sorry, but yes, this is a sensitive topic for me. Christians bled and died to give me, and you, these freedoms, and now you want to shut them up because you consider them a threat to you monopoly on truth.... Not going to happen as long as I serve, whether in or out of uniform.