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In another thread here, a contributor asked about the question of the military chaplaincy as it affects modern pagans. As of this writing in early 2006, there were no pagan chaplains in any of the armed services of the United States. However, in late 2005, the Sacred Well Congregation became the first pagan religious body to be recognized by the Armed Forces Chaplains Board as an Ecclesiastical Endorsing Agency. This opens the way for qualified members of the pagan clergy to apply for appointments as military chaplains if they are so inclined.
So, I hear you asking, just exactly what does it mean to say that a member of the pagan clergy is qualified to be a military chaplain? The answer to that question is that the requirements are fairly stiff, and VERY few pagans will actually qualify.
The military’s requirements are that a candidate for appointment to the military chaplaincy must:
Possess a Baccalaureate degree of not less than 120 semester hours from a college listed in the “Education Directory, Colleges and Universities,” or from a school whose credits are accepted by a college listed therein.
Have completed three resident years of graduate professional study in theology or related subjects. (This would normally be demonstrated by the possession of a Master of Divinity, Master of Theology, Doctor of Divinity, or an equivalent degree, or 90 semester hours. ) The graduate-level work must have been undertaken at a graduate school listed in the “Educational Directory, Colleges And Universities,” or in the “Directory, ATS Bulletin, Part 4.”
Be a fully qualified member of the clergy of his or her religious faith group.
Be under age 40 at time of appointment; (age 50 for Roman Catholic Priests.)
Receive endorsement from an ecclesiastical endorsing agency recognized by The Armed Forces Chaplains Board.
Be physically qualified and able to receive a favorable National Agency Check in order to receive a security clearance.
But over and beyond these requirements, a military chaplain has to be an exceptionally tolerant and understanding minister. A military chaplain is required to provide, to the best of his or her ability, for the spiritual welfare of ALL of the military personnel in the unit or the ship for which he is responsible, and not just for those personnel who share his or her religious affiliation. Yes, that means that a pagan chaplain must be prepared to counsel and provide spiritual assistance to Catholics and to Jews and to Evangelical Protestants. And to Muslims, and to Buddhists, and to atheists, if need be. In the Army, for example, the priority for filling duty positions for chaplains is given to the front-line combat units. A combat brigade with six battalions will normally have five battalion-level chaplains assigned to it, plus a brigade chaplain. But a rear-area Theater Support Brigade may have only a single Unit Ministry Team (1commissioned chaplain and 1 enlisted chaplain’s assistant,) to provide for the spiritual welfare of all of the 3000-odd soldiers in that brigade.
And another thing that rears it’s ugly head. You cannot be a military chaplain if you have pacifist beliefs or tendencies. If you do not believe that warfare is sometimes necessary and justified, you have no business applying to be a military chaplain.
There are lots of pagans out there saying that we NEED pagan chaplains in the US military. But how many of you know someone who is qualified, willing, and ABLE to do this kind of work? My guess would be that there aren’t going to be very many pagan clergy who fit the bill.
So, I hear you asking, just exactly what does it mean to say that a member of the pagan clergy is qualified to be a military chaplain? The answer to that question is that the requirements are fairly stiff, and VERY few pagans will actually qualify.
The military’s requirements are that a candidate for appointment to the military chaplaincy must:
Possess a Baccalaureate degree of not less than 120 semester hours from a college listed in the “Education Directory, Colleges and Universities,” or from a school whose credits are accepted by a college listed therein.
Have completed three resident years of graduate professional study in theology or related subjects. (This would normally be demonstrated by the possession of a Master of Divinity, Master of Theology, Doctor of Divinity, or an equivalent degree, or 90 semester hours. ) The graduate-level work must have been undertaken at a graduate school listed in the “Educational Directory, Colleges And Universities,” or in the “Directory, ATS Bulletin, Part 4.”
Be a fully qualified member of the clergy of his or her religious faith group.
Be under age 40 at time of appointment; (age 50 for Roman Catholic Priests.)
Receive endorsement from an ecclesiastical endorsing agency recognized by The Armed Forces Chaplains Board.
Be physically qualified and able to receive a favorable National Agency Check in order to receive a security clearance.
But over and beyond these requirements, a military chaplain has to be an exceptionally tolerant and understanding minister. A military chaplain is required to provide, to the best of his or her ability, for the spiritual welfare of ALL of the military personnel in the unit or the ship for which he is responsible, and not just for those personnel who share his or her religious affiliation. Yes, that means that a pagan chaplain must be prepared to counsel and provide spiritual assistance to Catholics and to Jews and to Evangelical Protestants. And to Muslims, and to Buddhists, and to atheists, if need be. In the Army, for example, the priority for filling duty positions for chaplains is given to the front-line combat units. A combat brigade with six battalions will normally have five battalion-level chaplains assigned to it, plus a brigade chaplain. But a rear-area Theater Support Brigade may have only a single Unit Ministry Team (1commissioned chaplain and 1 enlisted chaplain’s assistant,) to provide for the spiritual welfare of all of the 3000-odd soldiers in that brigade.
And another thing that rears it’s ugly head. You cannot be a military chaplain if you have pacifist beliefs or tendencies. If you do not believe that warfare is sometimes necessary and justified, you have no business applying to be a military chaplain.
There are lots of pagans out there saying that we NEED pagan chaplains in the US military. But how many of you know someone who is qualified, willing, and ABLE to do this kind of work? My guess would be that there aren’t going to be very many pagan clergy who fit the bill.
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Re: Pagan Clergy and the Military Chaplaincy
Mon, February 6, 2006 - 5:04 PMOkay, so here are my quesions...and I am not that familiar with the military so excuse my questions if they seem ignorant...
Does a military chaplain have to be in the military? (this question stemming from the requirement about pacifist views...wouldn't someone in the military believe that war was sometimes neccessary?) I
What are the RELATED SUBJECTS in the graduate work in theology or related subjects requirement. Is there a list?
How do you determine if this person is a qualified member of clergy?
Receive endorsement from an ecclesiastical endorsing agency recognized by The Armed Forces Chaplains Board.
- I am assuming there is a process here, and that the Sacred Well Congregation would be one of these? They have their own requirements I assume
Possess a Baccalaureate degree of not less than 120 semester hours from a college listed in the “Education Directory, Colleges and Universities,” or from a school whose credits are accepted by a college listed therein.
-this seems easy enough
Be under age 40 at time of appointment; (age 50 for Roman Catholic Priests.)
- okay, but why the age requirement?
Be physically qualified and able to receive a favorable National Agency Check in order to receive a security clearance.
-again, this one is a little beyond me....can you explain this more? I understand security clearance but what is physically qualified?
But over and beyond these requirements, a military chaplain has to be an exceptionally tolerant and understanding minister. A military chaplain is required to provide, to the best of his or her ability, for the spiritual welfare of ALL of the military personnel in the unit or the ship for which he is responsible,
- again, seeing as a lot of pagans (or maybe just the ones I know) believe that there is no right way to Deity, I see this being less of an issue for pagans than someone who comes from a belief system that says theirs is the only way.
Blessings
Christine -
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Re: Pagan Clergy and the Military Chaplaincy
Mon, February 6, 2006 - 9:26 PMGood questions, Christine.
+++Does a military chaplain have to be in the military?+++
Military chaplains are commissioned as officers in whichever branch of the service they have applied to be appointed as a chaplain. So, while they need not already be in the military when they apply, once they accept an appointment they ARE members of that uniformed service.
To clarify the bit about pacifist views, that bit was my commentary rather than an exact reflection of the requirements. I'm sorry I did such a poor job of making that more clear.
+++ What are the RELATED SUBJECTS in the graduate work in theology or related subjects requirement. Is there a list? +++
In practice, the Armed Forces Chaplains Board leaves the determination of what constitutes an adequate graduate education as a preparation for ordination up to the various denominations and endorsing agencies, as long as the candidate does have the minimum 90 semester hours of graduate work. My wife's MA in Guidance and Counseling would probably pass, were she interested and otherwise qualified, but I suspect that a candidate with an MBA in Accounting might have some problems. As far as I know, there is no specific list of acceptable alternatives.
+++ How do you determine if this person is a qualified member of clergy? +++
The Ecclesiastical Endorsing Agency makes that determination, then certifies to the AFCB that the candidate is qualified/properly ordained. That's what "endorsement" means in this context.
+++ Receive endorsement from an ecclesiastical endorsing agency recognized by The Armed Forces Chaplains Board.
- I am assuming there is a process here, and that the Sacred Well Congregation would be one of these? They have their own requirements I assume +++
Ecclesiastical Endorsing Bodies are generally associated with a specific religous denomination, and basically sponsor members of that denomination's clergy before the AFCB. For Catholic priests, for example, the Endorsing Agency is the Military Ordinate of the United States, which is supervised by the Archbishop of New York. There is a lengthy process through which a group must go to become an endorsing agency. Sacred Well has finished it, Circle is, according to their website, in the final stage of the qualification process. And yes, each endorsing agency generally has its own denominational rules about who can be ordained.
+++ Be under age 40 at time of appointment; (age 50 for Roman Catholic Priests.)
- okay, but why the age requirement? +++
Unless a commissioned officer resigns his or her commission, the appointment is for life. It is assumed that any commissioned officer will have a career of at least 20 years, (not all of which need be spent on active duty.) The age limit is intended to insure that only relatively young and healthy individuals are brought into what can be a strenuous and demanding profession.
+++ Be physically qualified and able to receive a favorable National Agency Check in order to receive a security clearance.
-again, this one is a little beyond me....can you explain this more? I understand security clearance but what is physically qualified? +++
It means being in good enough health and physical condition that the candidate can pass a military medical examination. Be in posession of all limbs and extremities, two funtional eyes, normal color vision, vision correctable to 20/20/ normal hearing, no chronic health issues like diabetes, heart disease, that sort of thing. Chaplains are expected to maintain the same pysical fitness requirements as the personnel they care for, so they have to be reasonably healthy upon entrance. When I was in the 82nd Airborne Division, all of our chaplains jumped out of airplanes with us, and had been through the Parachute School, so we KNEW that they could each run four miles in 32 minutes, and so forth.
+++ - again, seeing as a lot of pagans (or maybe just the ones I know) believe that there is no right way to Deity, I see this being less of an issue for pagans than someone who comes from a belief system that says theirs is the only way. +++
But, by the same token, there are a lot of pagans out there who can't get their minds unwrapped from around the idea that Christianity is EEEVIL and that Christians are the enemy. That wouldn't bode well for their ability to maintain Unconditional Positive Regard for someone they are trying to counsel. One of the biggest misunderstandings many pagans have about the military chaplaincy is the idea that a pagan chaplain would only have to work with pagans. That simply is not the case.
I hope this helps. Please feel free to ask futher questions, or for clarifications of my somewhat obtuse answers.
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Re: Pagan Clergy and the Military Chaplaincy
Tue, February 7, 2006 - 6:40 PMThanks for answering my questions....
I guess that another requirement would have to be desire...lol
Because, I am looking at these requirements and thinking...I could do that!! (Yeah, like I need one more thing to do). However...the desire (at this time in my life) to be in the military is not there.
I am most curious about the PROCESS of ordination and becoming acceptable to the US Military. Seeing as it is a government institution, the process of ordaining someone who is pagan fascinates me.
As we have stated, states have varying laws regarding that. In NY, I am legally ordained under a number of the qualifications. However, to have a larger governmental body recognize that is something to think about.
I would love to know what their exact qualifications are for being recognized. All the fine print. How can some non-governmental organization be recognized federally, not just state (though we have a not so definitive line there between church and state anyway and that concerns me). Is it possible, would we want it to be possible (specifically with a president who does not recognize wicca/paganism as a religion). Paganism is not even recognized, at least NY, as a religion in prison, though pagans are allowed to have their practices.
Just an interesting move forward if there were to be a pagan military chaplain.
Blessings -
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Re: Pagan Clergy and the Military Chaplaincy
Tue, February 7, 2006 - 7:12 PMActually, the whole point of the somewhat convoluted process of going through an Ecclesiasical Endorsing Agency was developed specifically to keep the government OUT of making decisions about the validity of ordinations. The endorsing agencies basically undertake to guarantee that they will only endorse properly-ordained member's of their denomination's clergy, and that they will not knowingly endorse a candidate who is unqualified.
Thus, all the Chaplain's Board has to do is take the pre-qualified candidates presented by the endorsing agencies and evaluate their potential based on the Board members' own experience as chaplains. And because the candidates alredy have a denominational endorsement, the Board doesn't have to decide about the validity of individual ordinations.
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Re: Pagan Clergy and the Military Chaplaincy
Tue, February 7, 2006 - 7:34 PMSome more thoughts, (since Tribe won't let me edit my other post.)
The military is not for everyone. The best chaplains live with the troops, and put up with the same hardships, because that's where there is the most need for their services. When I was going through the Airborne School at Fort Benning, Georgia, many years ago, on one of my qualifying jumps the School's Protestant chaplain was the first person out of the aircraft, to show us, as he said, that "...if a preacher can do this, boys, you can too!"
And consider the story of the Four Chaplains, which you can see at:
www.homeofheroes.com/brother...ins.html
That's the kind of people that the military is looking for to be chaplains. They are, unfortunately, all too rare.
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