Ethical Conflicts of Religious Practices in the Army

Abstract

Religious practices in the Army are creating an ethical dilemma for our Soldiers. Both the Oath of Enlistment and the practices of senior officials demonstrate an inability to separate church and state. Therefore, the U.S. Army should discontinue the use of sectarian religious practice in military ceremonies and events. Those who wish can practice their chosen religion off duty as a personal matter. Military chaplains' primary function is not to provide the command with religion. On the contrary, they have other obligations to the command, while religious services are not the commands priority. Until we separate the Army and religious practices in accordance with the constitution, we will continue to create ethical dilemmas for our Soldiers.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 03, 2008
Accession Number
AD1133076

Entities

People

  • Stuart Oblack

Organizations

  • United States Army Sergeants Major Academy

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Human Systems

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Army Personnel
  • Chaplains
  • Congress
  • Department Of Defense
  • Federal Law
  • Governments
  • Judiciary
  • Law
  • Military Personnel
  • Personnel Management
  • Recruiting
  • Religion
  • Religious Freedom
  • United States

Readers

  • Military Leadership and Professional Education.
  • Political Violence and Terrorism Studies.