What Role Does Religion Play Within Our Military?

How could it not? In the darkest of hours I saw my Marines believe in God for the first time!

Allowing the exercise of religion is not a defacto case for establishment. By removing religion and all references, they would be establishing a "God free-zone" which would prohibit free exercise.

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, OR prohibiting the free exercise thereof."

Either you take an oath to defend the Constitution as it's written and allow people including it's leaders to exercise their rights as individuals or choose not to take the oath and avoid places that require an oath to the Constitution. As an agnostic, I would have an issue if I was ordered to go to a particular service, but out of respect for a large body praying, I would bow my head in silence, because respecting others ideology is more important than my personal beliefs.

Absolutely it does. Without my faith I am a different man and a different leader. I would be less compassionate and be like many in society and only looking out for myself, out to get mine. I mean I am entitled to it right?

Saying there is no room for religion in the military is like saying there is no room for religion in schools. Look how well that turned out. If we keep pushing God out of our society we will have a godless society and things will be worse.

I am not saying we all become missionaries and thump the Bible on people until they believe. I am saying let me practice and exercise my freedom of religion that is defined so nicely in the Constitution in the Bill of Rights. That I really am entitled to thanks to those who fought before me and that is why I am here to continue to preserve these rights for future generations of Americans. If you want to give up your rights that is on you, but do not try to give up everyone else's rights in doing so.

Sgt Alt,

Your view is not uncommon these days but it is grossly incorrect. There is so much wrong in your post it would take a long time to go through them one by one. One thing I would ask you to consider is the Supreme Court Case of The Holy Trinity Church vs The United States as a starting point. The case was about a labor dispute but the justices, as part of their ruling, explored the founding of the US and the concept of this being a Christian nation or not. I pasted a small portion of their ruling below but the entire decision is easy to find on line by searching the case name.

You are entilted to believe what you wish but the facts are not really in dispute for those willing to do an honest examination of the history.

Also, you seem very concerned about Chaplains in the US Miltary which you might be surprised to learn were put in place by the Continental Congress and George Washington. They felt the Chaplaincy was essential to the military well being.

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Church of the Holy Trinity vs the United States 1892


Even the constitution of the United States, which is supposed to have little touch upon the private life of the individual, contains in the first amendment a declaration common to the constitutions of all the states, as follows: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof," etc., - and also provides in article 1, § 7, (a provision common to many constitutions,) that the executive shall have 10 days (Sundays excepted) within which to determine whether he will approve or veto a bill.

There is no dissonance in these declarations. There is a universal language pervading them all, having one meaning. They affirm and reaffirm that this is a religious nation. These are not individual sayings, declarations of private persons. They are organic utterances. They speak the voice of the entire people. While because of a general recognition of this truth the question has seldom been presented to the courts, yet we find that in Updegraph v. Comm., 11 Serg. & R. 394, 400, it was decided that, "Christianity, general Christianity, is, and always has been, a part of the common law of Pennsylvania; * * * not Christianity with an established church and tithes and spiritual courts, but Christianity with liberty of conscience to all men." And in People v. Ruggles, 8 Johns. 290, 294, 295, Chancellor KENT, the great commentator on American law, speaking as chief justice of the supreme court of New York, said: "The people of this state, in common with the people of this country, profess the general doctrines of Christianity as the rule of their faith and practice; and to scandalize the author of those doctrines in not only, in a religious point of view, extremely impious, but, even in respect to the obligations due to society, is a gross violation of decency and good order. * * * The free, equal, and undisturbed enjoyment of religious opinion, whatever it may be, and free and decent discussions on any religious [143 U.S. 457, 471] subject, is granted and secured; but to revile, with malicious and blasphemous contempt, the religion professed by almost the whole community is an abuse of that right. Nor are we bound by any expressions in the constitution, as some have strangely supposed, either not to punish at all, or to punish indiscriminately the like attacks upon the religion of Mahomet or of the Grand Lama; and for this plain reason that the case assumes that we are a Christian people, and the morality of the country is deeply ingrafted upon Christianity, and not upon the doctrines or worship of those impostors." And in the famous case of Vidal v. Girard's Ex'rs, 2 How. 127, 198, this court, while sustaining the will of Mr. Girard, with its provisions for the creation of a college into which no minister should be permitted to enter, observed: "it is also said, and truly, that the Christian religion is a part of the common law of Pennsylvania."

If we pass beyond these matters to a view of American life, as expressed by its laws, its business, its customs, and its society, we find everywhere a clear recognition of the same truth. Among other matters note the following: The form of oath universally prevailing, concluding with an appeal to the Almighty; the custom of opening sessions of all deliberative bodies and most conventions with prayer; the prefatory words of all wills, "In the name of God, amen;" the laws respecting the observance of the Sabbath, with the general cessation of all secular business, and the closing of courts, legislatures, and other similar public assemblies on that day; the churches and church organizations which abound in every city, town, and hamlet; the multitude of charitable organizations existing everywhere under Christian auspices; the gigantic missionary associations, with general support, and aiming to establish Christian missions in every quarter of the globe. These and many other matters which might be noticed, add a volume of unofficial declarations to the mass of organic utterances that this is a Christian nation. In the face of all these, shall it be believed that a congress of the United States intended to make it a misdemeanor for a church of this country to contract for the services of a Christian minister residing in another nation?

For me I only had faith in two things in a fire fight. My God and the guy next to me. Depending on how the shit has hit the fan I would rate which one was more important at the time.

Every Religion will claim to be better than the next. i live by two mottos. "Ever since there has been a GOD, there has been a man willing to kill in his name". though i am Christian (non-practicing that is) i believe there is good in all religions. our military was built off christian values as our country was. but we have since grown. i think we play too much into the "politically correct" game and try to make every one happy. this tears up our core. you cant make everyone happy, so stop trying. ever wonder why we still pray before a ceremony. ive seen atheists bow their heads during an invocation. i asked them what they did when we bowed our heads. one said sleep, one said think about his wife at home naked. lol. they bowed their heads out of respect for the beliefs of those around them. religion is like meat. some love meat, some dont. so let those who like beef eat it and those that like veggies eat that. you cant change our core values to satisfy one group. otherwise you'll piss off another group. so if an atheist says that he will not join because the oath of enlistment ends with "so help me god" then he has the right not to join.

I don't care what a person religion is because we serve only one God, many of my friends aren't baptist like me. But we have a lot in common and mutual respect for one another, some people become an fanatic and end up causing hate and discontent. But the role religion plays in the military just like anywhere else outside of the military, when someone is hurting and need the word of God for encouragement. For example, when we mourn a loss of a love one, relative, falling comrade, confuse and need direction, just to name a few.

I'm a little disappointed that 30% of military members are unable to trust other service members with a different (or no) religion.

One hopes this is a factor in the abstract, but not where the rubber meets the road. Similar to what happened when DADT was repealed. Plenty of military folks held self-identified moral stances against "the gay lifestyle" and worried about unit cohesion...but when someone they had served with in combat, or for years, came out as gay it was no big deal. So hopefully, that 30% feels in the abstract that they would have a hard time trusting someone with different religious beliefs, but when told a close colleague is an atheist/Buddhist/etc, would look at it as no big deal.

I feel that it helps many people dictate their right from wrong and their direction in life. I have found that no matter the religion I am likely to trust those near me after learning of their actions, I could care less about what they believe.

I think the family unit is a much bigger driver in staying in the service, but that is another conversation.

I say yes. If you are religious then this is definitely the place for it.

It's a stressful environment and deals with death. One needs a way to cope.

Again, for those who don't know me, it still should be optional.