Humanists want a military chaplain to call their own

[cbayer]

http://www.religionnews.com/2013/07/22/humanists-want-a-military-chaplain-to-call-their-own/

Kimberly Winston | Jul 22, 2013


Jason Heap, who is applying to be the first Humanist chaplain in the military. Photo courtesy Jason Heap


(RNS) If Jason Heap has his way, he’ll trade his Oxford tweeds for the crisp whites of a newly minted U.S. Navy chaplain.

“This is my chance to give back to my country,” said Heap, 38. “I want to use my skills on behalf of our people in the service. Hopefully, the Navy will see where I can be useful.”

But Heap’s goal is not assured. He fits the requirements— with master’s degrees from both Brite Divinity School and Oxford University. His paperwork is complete. He passed the physical tests and has been interviewed by a Navy chaplain. The only thing he does not have is an endorsement from a religious organization approved by the Navy.

And there’s the rub: Heap is a Humanist. He carries the endorsement of the Humanist Society, an organization of those who believe in the positive power of human potential, but not necessarily in God. The Humanist Society — like all organizations that represent nonbelievers — is not among the Department of Defense’s list of approximately 200 groups allowed to endorse chaplains.

more at link

[okasha]

1. It took years for a widow

to get a pentagram onto a pagan soldier's headstone. I hope the Navy is more responsive to its Humanist members; the military should have learned by now.

[cbayer]

2. It appears that they need to change, or at least broaden, their

definition of religious organization.

It seems wrong for them not to endorse this, particularly knowing this:

There are an estimated 13,000 active duty servicemen and women that identify as atheists or agnostics — more than the number of Muslims, Buddhists and Hindus combined — all of which have their own chaplains.