Ministering to nonbelievers

[rug]

Our view: There are plenty of atheists in foxholes, and their beliefs must be respected

11:51 a.m. EST, November 8, 2011

Army officials at Fort Meade are resisting calls from service members who describe themselves as atheists to officially recognize lay leaders to represent their beliefs and help military chaplains minister to the needs of nonbelievers. The Army recognizes lay leaders among Christians, Jews and Muslims, but says it can't do the same for 10,000 or so active-duty service members who are atheists because they belong to no organized religion.

It's debatable whether the set of beliefs to which many atheists subscribe — among them a conviction that humans cannot look to God to solve their problems, and that people must seek within themselves and each other to find meaning and fulfillment in life — constitutes a "religion" in the conventional sense. Many atheists do consider themselves part of a larger spiritual and ethical community of faith, albeit one that does not require belief in a higher power.

It's also a difficult question whether atheists would be able to effectively serve the function of a chaplain. Because of the nature of the military, there is a strong possibility that a soldier in crisis will find himself or herself seeking counsel from a chaplain of a different religion or denomination. A Catholic soldier may wind up talking to a Jewish chaplain, or vice-versa. Atheist chaplains would need to be able to meet the spiritual needs of not just other atheists but also those for whom a belief in God is central.

What's certain, however, is that the military needs to be accepting of those who do not believe, and that apparently hasn't always been the case at Fort Meade and other military bases. Chaplains and religious lay leaders have been accused of treating atheists either as moral pariahs unfit to wear the uniform or trying to convert them to their personal religious beliefs regarding God and salvation. Service members who describe themselves as atheists have complained of religious bias against nonbelievers and a lack of sensitivity to their needs for affirmation and a sense of connectedness to a community of like-minded individuals.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/editorial/bs-ed-atheists-chaplains-20111108,0,5777568.story

[msongs]

1. the military should not be serving the "needs" of anybody based on religious beliefs nt

[cleanhippie]

4. I couldn't agree more.

[dtexdem]

5. They most certainly SHOULD!

Members of the military are often separated from civilian support, often stationed where they are out of contact with their religions and other social supports. The military MUST try to make up for this lack. The issue is that it should do so in an evenhanded way, not favoring any one religion or set of religions or belief systems. The spiritual needs of humans can be defined in totally secular ways (although I personally think that using the term "spiritual" for this creates too great a risk of bringing in cultural baggage of what is meant by the term), and those needs must be addressed for those prevented at times, or always, from seeking such support outside the military.

[dmallind]

2. Why does paragraph 3 not apply in reverse too? nt

[Warpy]

3. I could introduce them to some really crackerjack hospital chaplains

who could explain the whole thing to them. Hospital chaplains spend little of their time praying (although they do that with patients and families who request it) and most of their time listening and helping with paperwork. Since they deal with people who represent all the world's religions, they don't proselytize nor do they assume what people need without asking them.

It's not rocket science. Sometimes comfort is given when you're a sympathetic listener.

[bananas]

6. Reality vs theory.

"It's not rocket science. Sometimes comfort is given when you're a sympathetic listener."
Great quote.