Atheist Chaplains, or Another Case of Christians Not Being the Ones Discriminated Against
I was having a conversation with someone the other day, and the topic turned to the types of things I discuss on this blog. I made a comment along the lines of, 'It's not as if Christians are a persecuted minority in this country', and the other person responded that 'No, they're a persecuted majority'. From my interactions, it seems that this is a relatively common perception. As an example, here's an article from Townhall Magazine, Persecution of Christians ... in America. Granted, there are examples of Christians being mistreated, but these mainly seem to be isolated cases. For another set of examples, look to the ACLU's ACLU Defense of Religious Practice and Expression. Those are mostly local school boards, city governments, or bureaucrats misunderstanding the law.
For an example of a group being discriminated against by not just local government, but the United States House of Representatives, consider the recent case of the ban on atheist chaplains in the military.
Currently, there are around 2800 chaplains in the military. These chaplains are all specifically for Christians, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, and Jews (and maybe a few more religions, I'm not sure). However, there are no specifically secular chaplains, even though around 20% of those in the military have no particular religious affiliation, and around 1% are specifically atheist/agnostic. So, some atheist organizations were pushing to get a few secular chaplains to support the non-religious in the military. One congressional member tried to create the post in an amendment to the defense appropriations bill, but it was voted down. Not content with merely voting it down, the opponents came back with a separate amendment requiring chaplains to be associated with a specific religious institution - an attempt to effectively ban atheist and secular chaplains. And that amendment had no trouble passing - 253 to 173 (with only 2 Republicans voting against the amendment).
The guy who sponsored the amendment called atheist chaplains an oxymoron, insisting that chaplains are there to perform religious duties. But, in practice, the religious aspects of their post only constitute a small portion of it. As one of the commenters in the link below put it:
Military Chaplains do a lot more than hold church services and prayer meetings. They counsel guys that are going through a lot of hard stuff. Anyone who has served in the military knows this. If a soldier isn't a Christian, he may not feel comfortable talking to a Christian Chaplain about his issues, and there are a lot of guys out there committing suicide without having seen a Chaplain. Whatever we can do to prevent these needless deaths, even if you guys think it's "stupid" or an "oxymoron" is fine by me.
And I know some people might say those soldiers have the options of counselors and psychologists, but there's still a big stigma with those. More importantly, it goes down in the soldier's record if they see a psychologist, whereas a visit to a chaplain is off the record, making it more likely for a soldier to talk with them.
Don't get me wrong. Atheists don't have it terribly bad in the U.S. For one, it's not outwardly apparent, so even living in one of the reddest areas in a very red state, I've never felt the type of personal harassment that a victim of 'stop and frisk' would experience. But I'm also careful not to be very vocal about my atheism in the wrong crowds. Years ago when my daughter was younger, she made the mistake of simply telling another kid at daycamp that she didn't think you needed to believe in God to be a good person, and she ended up being teased by a bunch of other kids for the rest of the day. My main point is that I'm tired of the false narrative of Christians being the ones persecuted in this country.
More Info:
Other than the headline and opening paragraph, this is a pretty even handed article:
This issue has been covered extensively in verse by the Digital Cuttlefish, going back to before the above mentioned law was even proposed. Go check out some of his posts for more info:
Comments
Services of Chaplains are needed badly for those who return home after a long war against the "unknown enemy" from places like Afghanistan, Iraq. To become a Chaplain, you can earn a degree online from home. I have a website dedicated to Chaplaincy Degrees. I invite the readers to have a look at my website to get more information on how to become a Chaplain.
Posted by: Chaplaincy Degrees | February 18, 2015 8:29 AM
lipitor 80mg usa purchase atorvastatin pill lipitor 80mg sale
Posted by: Nqwkzz | March 12, 2024 1:11 PM
generic cipro - myambutol 1000mg generic order augmentin 625mg for sale
Posted by: Ctqtcp | March 14, 2024 10:09 PM
oral cipro - cephalexin 250mg drug order amoxiclav without prescription
Posted by: Vbgjvg | March 14, 2024 11:24 PM
buy flagyl 200mg pills - azithromycin 500mg oral azithromycin 500mg price
Posted by: Gpcmtv | March 17, 2024 7:44 PM
ciplox 500mg usa - buy doxycycline without prescription where can i buy erythromycin
Posted by: Clzicc | March 18, 2024 7:47 AM
valacyclovir 1000mg ca - purchase nemazole generic zovirax 400mg tablet
Posted by: Iqnafm | March 20, 2024 12:44 AM
stromectol price - suprax 100mg pills order tetracycline 250mg online cheap
Posted by: Zazerv | March 20, 2024 11:21 AM
flagyl over the counter - purchase cefaclor online order generic zithromax 250mg
Posted by: Twdfid | March 21, 2024 7:09 PM
acillin tablet buy penicillin pills for sale cheap amoxicillin without prescription
Posted by: Uhzwfx | March 22, 2024 1:36 PM
buy furosemide 100mg for sale - warfarin over the counter order captopril for sale
Posted by: Gmflxo | March 23, 2024 4:48 PM
glycomet 500mg sale - where to buy ciprofloxacin without a prescription buy generic lincocin over the counter
Posted by: Lhlnwo | March 26, 2024 6:42 AM
zidovudine 300 mg tablet - lamivudine generic zyloprim online order
Posted by: Rzmyqv | March 26, 2024 11:41 PM
clozaril canada - purchase famotidine pill pepcid 20mg pills
Posted by: Ezophu | March 28, 2024 5:32 PM
quetiapine 100mg pills - desyrel sale eskalith tablets
Posted by: Kqhjku | March 30, 2024 2:35 AM
order clomipramine 25mg sale - citalopram 40mg brand doxepin 75mg pills
Posted by: Bydzlr | March 31, 2024 12:11 PM
generic atarax 10mg - brand atarax 25mg endep canada
Posted by: Asiusa | March 31, 2024 11:07 PM
buy amoxicillin generic - cephalexin 250mg generic buy ciprofloxacin online cheap
Posted by: Unwkzi | April 4, 2024 1:20 PM
order augmentin 1000mg sale - order zyvox ciprofloxacin order
Posted by: Mgncoy | April 4, 2024 1:48 PM
clindamycin usa - buy cefpodoxime 200mg generic chloramphenicol pill
Posted by: Lngwvz | April 10, 2024 1:22 AM
zithromax 500mg cost - azithromycin 500mg generic ciprofloxacin where to buy
Posted by: Bcvzsh | April 10, 2024 2:17 PM
generic ivermectin - buy eryc pills for sale order cefaclor pill
Posted by: Gxkptt | April 13, 2024 6:48 AM
order ventolin online - buy theo-24 Cr 400 mg sale buy theo-24 Cr no prescription
Posted by: Tujciz | April 13, 2024 4:17 PM
order clarinex for sale - zaditor 1mg cheap best antihistamine for allergic rhinitis
Posted by: Umqmqk | April 16, 2024 2:47 AM
methylprednisolone 16mg oral - buy medrol generic purchase azelastine without prescription
Posted by: Hhgyvq | April 16, 2024 7:57 AM
micronase online order - glipizide 10mg cost dapagliflozin tablet
Posted by: Tplunr | April 17, 2024 11:52 PM
purchase repaglinide without prescription - jardiance us empagliflozin 10mg pill
Posted by: Eooazw | April 20, 2024 2:54 AM
lamisil online - buy terbinafine pills for sale buy grifulvin v medication
Posted by: Afzsuk | April 22, 2024 7:11 PM
order semaglutide 14 mg generic - buy semaglutide 14mg sale where can i buy desmopressin
Posted by: Tyraai | April 23, 2024 10:47 AM
buy ketoconazole 200 mg pills - buy butenafine paypal where can i buy sporanox
Posted by: Ucwuod | April 24, 2024 10:00 PM
famciclovir oral - buy cheap valaciclovir buy cheap valaciclovir
Posted by: Nxgbob | April 26, 2024 1:39 PM
buy lanoxin 250mg - buy calan 120mg pills buy furosemide without prescription
Posted by: Vsyczx | April 27, 2024 12:44 AM
hydrochlorothiazide 25 mg pills - buy plendil online cheap bisoprolol medication
Posted by: Xrzihd | April 29, 2024 2:25 AM
metoprolol online buy - buy propranolol tablets brand adalat 10mg
Posted by: Swwzmu | April 29, 2024 4:34 PM
buy generic nitroglycerin over the counter - lozol 2.5mg for sale buy diovan 80mg without prescription
Posted by: Kccswf | May 1, 2024 1:35 AM
crestor happen - crestor online serious caduet shop
Posted by: Jrmpot | May 3, 2024 5:48 PM
zocor trail - lopid sprawl atorvastatin die
Posted by: Tnoqdd | May 4, 2024 1:35 PM
acne treatment contain - acne treatment universe acne treatment trap
Posted by: Pkhvvk | May 20, 2024 8:40 AM
inhalers for asthma chair - asthma medication free asthma medication writ
Posted by: Bsxzmv | May 21, 2024 12:47 AM
uti medication passionate - treatment for uti preserve uti treatment history
Posted by: Hjbrrj | May 22, 2024 4:56 AM
prostatitis pills radio - prostatitis pills companion pills for treat prostatitis himself
Posted by: Lvgpbs | May 22, 2024 8:44 PM