Pentecostal Chaplain’s Religious Accommodation Request Denied

I know this may flabbergast some folks but it seems the Chaplain wanted accommodation for his views at the same time he disregarded the servicemembers going to him for help.

This has been a huge issue in all branches as more and more servicemembers were seeking help from some Chaplains only to be told they were going to hell or that their suffering was judgement of their sins. Yep~ So a young Soldier, Marine or Sailor or Airman would be dealing with PTSD and moral injury, then walk away feeling even worse.

If you think that's bad, try working with them on their spiritual need after they had been put through hell by a Chaplain.

To all the great military Chaplains out there, and there are many, this makes me appreciate all of you even more!

Commander denies Pentecostal chaplain’s religious accommodation request
Stars and Stripes
By Jon Harper
Published: March 18, 2015

Congressional law and Defense Department regulations require the military to accommodate the religious beliefs of servicemembers to the extent practical and prohibits the military from taking disciplinary action against servicemembers or chaplains for expressing their religious views unless their actions and speech threaten “good order and discipline.”

On Monday, Fahs sent a memorandum to Modder denying his request for religious accommodation, arguing that the chaplain violated Navy regulations.

“In your case, I find that your ability to express your religious beliefs during pastoral counseling has not been restricted or substantially burdened,” Fahs said. “The decision to relieve you from your duties is based on your failure to uphold … the professional standards of conduct and the guiding principles of the Chaplain Corps.”

WASHINGTON — The commander of Naval Nuclear Power Training Command has denied a religious accommodation request by a Pentecostal chaplain who was removed from his post for allegedly making inappropriate comments to sailors and being “intolerant” of those who don’t share his religious views.

Last month, NNPTC commander Capt. Jon Fahs requested that Navy chaplain Lt. Cmdr. Wesley Modder be “detached for cause.” Fahs also recommended Modder be denied promotion and made to show cause for retention in the Navy.

Modder, a member of the Pentecostal Assemblies of God denomination, has been removed from his post at NNPTC and temporarily reassigned to Naval Support Activity Charleston as a staff chaplain while Navy Personnel Command reviews Fahs’ recommendations.
read more here Linked from Military.com

Lawsuit on religion in military expanded

They all serve equally. They all wear the same uniform, serve under the same commander, the same flag but we forget that while they act as a unit, a family, they are also very different. Different backgrounds, different lives and different thoughts. Along with their individuality, there is also different beliefs. They need to be treated as their faith is a private matter just as if they marry or not is a private matter. It has nothing to do with their duty or their skills. No one should ever decide the faith of someone else or force it upon them. When they do, especially when it comes to the men and women serving this nation, it deludes the reason they serve. Religious freedom should be held highly but too many find no problem with this line being crossed.

Lawsuit on religion in military expanded
By John Hanna - The Associated Press
Posted : Monday Dec 29, 2008 18:29:13 EST

TOPEKA, Kan. — A newly expanded federal lawsuit alleged Monday that the military doesn’t take complaints of religious discrimination seriously enough and allows personnel to try to convert Muslims in Iraq and Afghanistan to Christianity.

The Military Religions Freedom Foundation and a Fort Riley, Kan., soldier suing Defense Secretary Robert Gates now allege that a bias toward evangelical Christianity pervades even the Army’s suicide prevention manual and the Air Force’s sponsorship of an evangelical motocross ministry.

The Defense Department said complaints about religious discrimination are relatively few and pointed to military policies against endorsing any religious view.

Spc. Dustin Chalker and the Military Religious Freedom Foundation filed their amended lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Kan. They filed the original lawsuit in September.

Chalker, a combat medic, is an atheist whose original complaints included being forced to attend military formations where Christian prayers were given. The foundation, based in Albuquerque, N.M., says it represents about 11,000 military personnel, almost all of them Christians upset about what they view as discrimination by more conservative and evangelical personnel. click link above for more

Military atheists want new rules on prayer

The Four Chaplains Memorial Foundation
The Four Chaplains Memorial Foundation exists to further the cause of 'unity without uniformity' by encouraging goodwill and cooperation among all people.

Mission Statement
The Four Chaplains Memorial Foundation exists to further the cause of “unity without uniformity” by encouraging goodwill and cooperation among all people. The organization achieves its mission by advocating for and honoring people whose deeds symbolize the legacy of the Four Chaplains aboard the U.S.A.T. Dorchester in 1943.


Vision
The Four Chaplains Memorial Foundation's vision is to impart the principles of selfless service to humanity without regard to race, creed, ethnicity, or religious beliefs.


Overview
The Reverend Daniel Poling, in honor of his son Chaplain Poling's heroism, began the movement to celebrate the Four Chaplains acts of courage. The organization was dedicated on February 3, 1951 by President Harry S. Truman. In his dedication speech, the President said, “This interfaith shrine... will stand through long generations to teach Americans that as men can die heroically as brothers so should they live together in mutual faith and goodwill.”

http://www.fourchaplains.org/

This is what Chaplains were supposed to be doing.

Military atheists want new rules on prayer
Coalition complains of religious discrimination in the services
By Leo Shane III, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Wednesday, November 12, 2008

WASHINGTON — A coalition of atheists and agnostics wants the new White House to protect young military members from what they see as rampant religious discrimination in the services.

The Secular Coalition for America held a news conference Monday urging new rules against proselytizing and more training for chaplains on how to handle nonreligious troops.

"When they say ‘there are no atheists in foxholes’ it’s slanderous," said Wayne Adkins, a former Army first lieutenant who served in Iraq in 2004 and 2005. "To deny their existence is to deny that they serve."

The coalition also wants President-elect Obama to develop a new directive for all chaplains and commanders that eliminates public prayers from any mandatory-attendance events for troops and ensures the Defense Department will not endorse any single religion, or even the idea of religion over nonreligion.

Jason Torpy, a retired soldier and president of the Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers, said his group isn’t opposed to Christianity or any other organized religion.
click link for more

But the problems for the men and women in the military are happening, not because there are some who do not believe in God, but because the Chaplains decided that they were going to be evangelists instead of Chaplains, mostly with the blessing of the brass.

If you are a Christian and find nothing wrong with this, then please consider how many other Christians from different branches of Christianity you agree with. Even Christians can't agree among themselves, so think about that because that is what's happening. Now think how you would feel to not be a member of the Christian faith and then put thru hell because you are Jewish, of Muslim, or an atheist. What if it was your son or your daughter being made to feel as if their own faith was not up to military standards?

That's why this bothers me. I'm Greek Orthodox. (I am also a civilian Chaplain working with veterans) I have yet to meet or read about a Greek Orthodox Chaplain, so it's very unlikely that if I were in the military I would be able to speak to one. Let's say that I had to see a Chaplain who did not believe the same way I did, which is usually the case since some Christians don't believe in the saints, blessing themselves three times for the Holy Trinity or kneeling when they pray. I would end up talking to someone who did not value my faith as I do.

There are many differences and not understanding what they are causes a lot of harm. I worked for a Presbyterian Church as the Administrator of Christian Education for two years. They respected my faith because I did not try to force it on them and I respected their's enough to honor it and learn it. Problems happen when there is no respect for what God put into all of us. The freewill to believe as we do or not. He didn't force us to worship Him so why is it that some in the military consider it their right to force their own faith on anyone? kc