Menu
ReligiousLiberty.TV / Founders' First Freedom®
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Articles
ReligiousLiberty.TV / Founders' First Freedom®

U.S. House Committee Votes to Strengthen Military Chaplains’ Liberty of Conscience

Posted on May 23, 2012May 24, 2012 by ReligiousLiberty.TV

Military ChaplainIn the wake of President Obama’s statement announcing his position favoring same-sex marriage, there has been some concern that military chaplains would be required to perform marriage ceremonies for same-sex couples in violation of their religious beliefs.

In response, the U.S. House Armed Services Committee has adopted  Congressman Todd Akin’s (R-Missouri) amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) which creates a statutory conscience protection clause for members of the military in general and military chaplains in particular.

The Akin amendment states:

“The Armed Forces shall accommodate the conscience and sincerely held moral principles and religious beliefs of the members of the Armed Forces concerning the appropriate and inappropriate expression of human sexuality and may not use such conscience, principles, or beliefs as the basis of any adverse personnel action, discrimination, or denial of promotion, schooling, training, or assignment.”

There is some debate as to whether this statutory amendment is necessary. Under current regulations, military chaplains have significant liberty of conscience protections.

For example, Army Regulation 165-1 states that, “Chaplains will perform their professional military religious leader ministrations in accordance with the tenets or faith requirements of the religious organization that certifies and endorses them. … Chaplains will not be required to perform a religious role (such as offering a prayer, reading, dedication, or blessing) in worship services, command ceremonies, or other events, if doing so would be in variance with the tenets or practices of their faith. Chaplains will make every effort to provide for required ministrations which they cannot personally perform.”

The matter will next be considered by the Senate Armed Services Committee when it reviews the NDAA.  Whether President Obama will sign the legislation is unclear. The White House Office of Management and Budget has  described this provision, and another which would prohibit same-sex marriage ceremonies from being held on military property, as being “potentially harmful to good order and discipline.”

###

Read the Akins Amendment online at http://akin.house.gov/images/stories/pdf/AKIN_062_chaplain_xml.pdf

  • Military Chaplain
  • Military
  • Todd Akin
  • U.S. House
  • Armed Services Committee
  • Chaplain
  • Tweets by RelLibertyTV

    Recent Posts

    • Live Hope

      Live Hope

      June 2, 2023
    • Pork Farm Supreme Court Decision May Allow State Legislatures to Regulate Moral Behavior In Other States

      Pork Farm Supreme Court Decision May Allow State Legislatures to Regulate Moral Behavior In Other States

      May 17, 2023
    • Supreme Court Hears Arguments on Accommodating Religious Practices in the Workplace: Groff v. DeJoy Case Update

      Supreme Court Hears Arguments on Accommodating Religious Practices in the Workplace: Groff v. DeJoy Case Update

      April 21, 2023
    • Learn About US Government and Liberty of Conscience in the Nation's Capitol: New Course for Adventist High School Students Gives College Credit

      Learn About US Government and Liberty of Conscience in the Nation's Capitol: New Course for Adventist High School Students Gives College Credit

      March 28, 2023
    • Founders’ First Freedom files Amicus Brief in US Supreme Court in Support of Workplace Religious Freedom

      Founders’ First Freedom files Amicus Brief in US Supreme Court in Support of Workplace Religious Freedom

      March 26, 2023

    We are not a law firm, do not provide any legal services, legal advice or “lawyer referral services” and do not provide or participate in any legal representation.

    ©2023 ReligiousLiberty.TV / Founders' First Freedom® | WordPress Theme by Superb Themes
    Manage Cookie Consent
    To provide the best experience, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent may adversely affect certain features and functions.
    Functional Always active
    The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
    Preferences
    The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
    Statistics
    The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
    Marketing
    The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
    Manage options Manage services Manage vendors Read more about these purposes
    View preferences
    {title} {title} {title}