Religion

[C-breez]

My family members are traditional native americans..
We have heard from others who got out of the military recently that the military is now full of "missionary Christians" who try to convert others and make life hard for people with religious beliefs unlike theirs. Sometimes those responsible for stopping this kind of thing are sympathetic with the folks doing the proselytizing.
My father in law and Dad said this was not the case in WWII and Korea when they were in. People of all kinds of religions were present, but no one was bothered.
So I hope it is a misperception.
My son is happy with the religion he was raised in and if he joins he should be left alone about it.

[C-breez]

Hi, Fr. John,
Thanks for answering---I suspected that would be what would have to be done.
Chaplains are not the problem.
It appears to be the other service personnel.
My son is not yet in the Navy--it happened to other relatives.
I haven't checked to see if native religions are covered under "recognized by the Navy"--that would be difficult because there are 500+ native nations (tribes) in the U.S. territory alone and most of them have their own distinct primal religion (as well as people who are Christians of various denom.'s , or other faiths , etc.)
We wouldn't expect the Navy to take care of his religious needs because he can do that on his own and on leave when he is home and can be at the sacred sites.
Our ceremonial leaders are Elders that have followed the ways for most of a lifetime--so they are too old to be in the service.
Thanks.

[John]

C-breez,
Unfortunately you're right, because there are so many religious denominations it would be impracticable for the Navy to accomodate all, but we will try. For instance, a couple of years ago a Sailor, who is Mormon, came asking if there were Mormon services on base that he could attend. At that time there were not, however, we arranged for representatives from the local Mormon Temple to come and hold services. There are basically two mottos that the Navy Chaplain goes by: the first "accomodation without compromise." The second, is to take care of all of our Sailors and Marines regardless of the faith background or lack there of.
Fr. John

[Anti M]

At one of my commands, a service member took it upon themselves to place "Chick" tracts (Christian comics and pretty ... um, strong) in the magazine rack in the lounge. The Chaplain removed them the moment he learned of them. The same sailor was in the locker room with me and she saw my ankh I wore on a long chain under my uniform, she asked me if I were a witch. She didn't mean wiccan, she meant witch, I asked ... wow, you would have thought she was going to faint on the spot. I was polite and said no, and explained the symbology. But I was tempted.... I swiped the anti-rock and roll and the witchcraft comics, they were pretty wild. And there was an ankh, explained as a mark of a practicing witch. No wonder that poor woman looked like she would faint when she saw mine.

Same gal tried to organize Bible study on the midwatch for the message center. That didn't go over well. Individual bible reading on a break, okay, organized bible discussions on duty, not okay.

So I agree, one can run into individuals who honestly think they are doing the right thing, yet crossing a line with those not of their faith. The chaplain is indeed your best resource if they cannot hear your request to leave you alone.

[C-breez]

Thanks.

[intheknow]

They don't hand them a bible. They offer a book of their choice and yes they have all of the majot faith based books of worhip. If they don't for some reason the Chaps will get one from a local church or the RDC's will have the family mail the book to the recruit.

[C-breez]

Thanks--well, they don't have to worry about my kid because we don't have any scriptures ;)

[Arwen]

There are issues with fundamentalist Christian proselytizing in the military in general, and it is organized, but not by the military itself.

There are groups who train young church members in missionary work before they go into the military, as well as some organizations whose missions are specifically to convert military members. Whether they are reined in or not depends on their command and chaplains. There are good chaplains and bad, just as there are good leaders and bad. There was a recent case of a group meeting in Afghanistan, where a group of soldiers at a prayer meeting were given Bibles written in the local language. They were told by the chief of U.S. military chaplains in Afghanistan to distribute them and "witness" the locals, an illegal act in Afghanistan, and banned by the military. The meeting was secretly taped, and the Bibles were confiscated by the military and destroyed.

There have been severe incidents, such as the Air Force Academy controversy about a decade ago, or the incident of a Christian officer threatening an authorized meeting of atheists in Iraq a couple of years ago. However, those incidents are the exception, not the rule.

Christianity is embedded in the military, in traditions such as prayers during ceremonies, prayers during mandatory gatherings, etc. While they are usually non-denominational, they are clearly Christian. The language is very Christian, referring to a single male deity, completely leaving out Pagans and Wiccans, who have a primary female goddess and a secondary male god, Hindus who have multiple gods, etc.

However, despite the institutionalized Christianity and missionary efforts (a minority), according to a recent study, the military is more secular than the American culture as a whole.