Saint Martin's Cloak

It is impossible to translate God's laws for the nation of Israel directly into laws for a pluralistic nation like the United States. Nevertheless, there are just ends of government that we can observe in the pages of the Old Testament. The Articles of Religion say, Although the law given from God by Moses as touching ceremonies and rites doth not bind Christians, nor ought the civil precepts thereof of necessity be received in any commonwealth; yet notwithstanding, no Christian whatsoever is free from the obedience of the commandments which are called moral. What moral principles underlie the "civil precepts" of the Old Testament law? What should Christians expect their government to do? What ends should we seek? Among the just ends of government that I see in the Old Testament are: Seek peace with neighboring countries, and among the nations of the world. Defend the nation against foreign invasion and domination.  Prevent the unjust taking of life ...

In 2007 I was a brand new lieutenant colonel reporting to my first general staff assignment. When I arrived, I discovered that a “change of stole” ceremony had been scheduled for me. I am not a fan of these events and I briefly resisted. Ultimately, I gave in and participated without further objection. "Go along and get along," as they say. I regret that. I wish I had explained my position more clearly.  What are change of stole ceremonies, and why do I object to them?  Whose Need does it Serve? The change of stole ceremony marks the passing of responsibility from one command chaplain to another, usually in the grade of lieutenant colonel (O-5) or colonel (O-6). The commander lifts a stole decorated with organizational markings from the neck of the outgoing command chaplain and places it on the neck of the incoming command chaplain. There are speeches and ceremonial trappings to the event. All together, the ceremony mimics the passing of the colors at military c...

The Interview Army Command Policy (AR 600-20) reserves approval of some religious accommodations to offices in the Pentagon, others to the first general officer in the chain of command, and the remainder to commanders at any level.  In some cases, a chaplain must be assigned to interview the requestor. After the interview, the chaplain prepares a memorandum summarizing the interview. The memorandum must address the religious nature of the request and the requestor’s sincerity. The chaplain is not required to recommend approval or disapproval, but may do so. The requestor can also provide letters from other chaplains or religious leaders, but those letters do not meet the requirement for the interview. (AR 600-20, Appendix P-3.b.(3)) Adapting the Chaplain's Role in Conscientious Objection This chaplain requirement is similar to the one for conscientious objector applicants in paragraph 2-4 of DA Pam 600-46 (Processing Applicants for Conscientious Objection). There, a cha...

God Told Me Last January, I listened to a presentation by a lawyer representing Navy SEALs seeking religious exemption from the COVID vaccine requirement. I asked him to speak about the reasons people gave for seeking the accommodation. If I heard him correctly, one of the reasons that individuals gave for seeking the exemption was “God told me to.”  I don’t see how you could possibly build a workable system of religious accommodation on such a foundation. <!-- wp:more --> <!--more--> <!-- /wp:more --> In October (10/17/23), a federal court in Maryland issued a ruling that I think agrees with me.  In  Foshee vs. AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP , the court dismissed a claim by individuals seeking religious exemption from the vaccine requirement.  In dismissing the case, the court wrote: Foshee’s position, that God gave him a conscience that tells him what to do, similarly amounts to a “blanket privilege. The same conscience-based ...

The Religious Freedom Restoration Act established three tests for religious accommodation. Is the government imposing a Substantial Burden on the exercise of religion? Is it doing so to achieve a Compelling Government Interest ? Is is using the Least Restrictive Means of furthering the Compelling Government Interest? If the answer to #1 is yes but the answer to #2 or #3 is no, the government is wrong to deny requests for religious accommodation. In 2020, Department of Defense Instruction 1300.17 applied these standards to religious accommodation in the armed forces. The exact definition of “substantial burden" is still being litigated. Among the factors that courts have said could create a substantial burden are: Religious Importance . How important is the religious principle or practice to the individual?  Penalty . How big is the penalty for violating government policy?  Pressure . How much pressure is the government on an individual to viola...

The Army policy on religious accommodation is founded on Depart of Defense Instruction (DODI) 1300.17. Throughout my career, the DODI was called  Accommodation of Religious Practices Within the Military Services.  In 2020, the name changed to  Religious Liberty in the Military Services .   The change hints at the substantive changes it entailed.  Since my background is with the Army, I will describe how Army policy evolved. When I entered active duty in 1991, here is how the regulations described the Army’s religious accommodation policy.  The Army places a high value on the rights of its soldiers to observe tenets of their respective religions. It is the Army's policy to approve requests for accommodation of religious practices when they will not have an adverse impact on military readiness, unit cohesion, standards, health, safety, or discipline, or otherwise interfere with the performance of the soldier's military duties. However, accomm...

On May 15, 2023, the U.S. State Department released its 2022 Report on International Religious Freedom , including a report on North Korea . If you are a TLDR type of person, here’s the bottom line. It’s bad. It’s very, very bad.  Anti-religious indoctrination, surveillance, imprisonment, torture, sexual violence, forced labor, forced disappearance, and execution are standard tools of the regime. Punishment extends to the families of violators. The social environment is oppressive, with people encouraged to turn in anyone who shows any signs of religious practice.  Christianity, Buddhism, Shamanism, and Neo-Confucianism all have roots in North Korea, but none are allowed to practice openly or freely. Christians are special targets of regime hostility, according to the State Department report. Open Doors describes North Korea as a “brutally hostile place for Christians to live.” The report contains numerous quotations from several human rights organizations, includin...