CHPL 500 Discussion Thread Chaplain Authority
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Liberty University *
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500
Subject
Philosophy
Date
Dec 6, 2023
Type
docx
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Uploaded by mwarrenym
The root of the chaplain’s authority to share their faith first comes from the same source for all
Christians to share their faith, the Great Commission (Matt. 28:18-20). But additionally for chaplains in
the United States, their authority comes from four historical documents in the government of the United
States known as the four organic laws, the Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation, The
Northwest Ordinance of 1787, and the Constitution. Each one of these documents contains references to
a Creator God at the least, or specifically encourages the free exercise of religion at the most. These
documents reflect the beliefs of the Founding Fathers, namely that God governs over the affairs of
mankind and the importance of America’s identity being rooted in faith. Dr. Steve Keith explained that
the Constitution protects religious diversity among its citizens by not establishing or suppressing
religious worship.
[1]
Dr. Keith also explained that government-funded chaplains are Constitutionally
provided and protected by the free exercise clause, allowing everyone, regardless of their religion, to
either practice or not practice religion.
[2]
Chaplains are trained not to force their personal beliefs onto people, but rather seek permission to
share. While all chaplain ministry is evangelistic in motive, when wordless incarnational ministry moves
into more direct conversational evangelism, the trained chaplain knows there is a difference between
informed consent and presumed consent to share their faith.
[3]
In most cases that a chaplain is asked to
pray publicly, and it happens to be on behalf of a pluralistic group, it is common to hear some kind of
prior acknowledgment that the prayer will be in Jesus’ name, it is optional to attend, or attendees do not
need to bow their head in agreement. Because the entire crowd was informed that they have the option
not to participate, they have no grounds to call the prayer an infringement on their first amendment
right. Alan Baker directly addresses this issue: “Many believe a chaplain’s position of offering prayer is
fraught with risk because the chaplain might leverage the opportunity to try to convert someone…
Chaplains, because they are given special trust granting them access to all people within the institution,
must avoid any grounds for this assertion by seeking to include everyone in the prayer, unless it violates
the chaplain’s faith-group requirements.”
[4]
In short, the legality of a chaplain praying in public to a
pluralistic group is legal, but, to avoid conflict, the crowd should be reminded of their freedom to
participate or not participate.
Footnotes
[1]
Steve Keith,
Chaplains, the U.S. Constitution, and Pluralistic Ministry
. Liberty University, 2013. 15:08
[2]
Ibid. 16:10.
[3]
Alan Baker,
Foundations of Chaplaincy: A Practical Guide
. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans Publishing Co.,
2021. 116.
[4]
Ibid. 155.
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