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On The Front Lines

Navy Prayer Policy Prohibits Free Exercise of Religion; Rutherford President Calls on Navy to Bring Policy in Line with Constitution

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -- In a recent letter to the Secretary of the Navy, John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute, called on the Navy to bring its recently issued prayer policy for chaplains in line with the Constitution. The policy, issued by Secretary of the Navy Donald C. Winter, prohibits Navy chaplains from using sectarian language in prayers in most situations other than formal worship settings. The policy also places the responsibility for determining what is and is not appropriate in such prayers on Navy commanders. Pointing out that by placing itself in the position of regulating prayer and interfering with the right of chaplains and servicepeople to freely satisfy their consciences in matters of faith, Whitehead informed Secretary Winter that the Navy is in violation of federal law and the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. A copy of the letter is available here.

"The First Amendment to the United States Constitution guarantees that all citizens have a fundamental right to freely exercise their religious beliefs, and that includes military servicepeople," said Whitehead. "The Secretary of the Navy should take immediate steps toward restoring the religious rights of Navy chaplains and servicepeople by adopting a policy that affirms the right of all individuals in the Navy to freely choose their own words of faith during prayer."

Since 1860, it has been the Navy's policy to allow chaplains to conduct public worship according to the manner and forms of their respective religious beliefs. However, as Whitehead points out in his letter to Secretary of the Navy Donald C. Winter, SECNAV INSTRUCTION 1730.7C, which was issued on February 21, 2006, reverses that historic military tradition in favor of ecumenical theism and/or deism. The Navy's new prayer policy for chaplains states: "Other than Divine/Religious Services, religious elements for a command function, absent extraordinary circumstances, should be non-sectarian in nature." In his letter to Secretary Winter, Whitehead voiced the concern that the policy has the potential to chill religious expression, affecting religious expression on ships, in battle zones and on military bases and installations. Furthermore, as the letter points out, the prayer policy undermines the express wishes of America's Founding Fathers, U.S. Supreme Court precedent and various acts of Congress, including the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. According to Whitehead, the new policy violates RFRA because it overtly and substantially interferes with the free exercise rights of chaplains and servicepeople. Calling on Secretary Winter to revise the prayer policy, Whitehead urged the military to remain neutral in matters of religion by allowing chaplains of various faiths to freely and openly present their religious points of view on a free and equal basis. "Whatever a proper Navy prayer policy would require," wrote Whitehead, "it certainly should not, as this policy does, discriminate against religion by censoring all sectarian references."

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