Religious Speech in the Military: Freedoms and Limitations
Abstract
The freedom to speak and to freely exercise one's religion are two central guarantees of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Military members retain these foundational rights, which the courts broadly protect. But there are characteristics of the military -- including its rank structure and the need for good order and discipline essential to accomplishing the military's crucial mission -- that justify constraints on the religious speech of all military members beyond what would be constitutionally tolerable in the civilian context. Moreover, additional constraints are imposed on military leaders' religious speech by virtue of their rank and position. This article addresses what military leaders need to know about rights and limitations on religious speech, both their subordinates' and their own. After examining the freedom of religious speech and three constitutional limitations, the article highlights three selected religious speech issues: proselytizing, official prayer, and religious displays. It concludes by providing leaders with 10 guiding principles on religious speech.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 2011
- Accession Number
- ADA594884
Entities
People
- David E. Fitzkee
Organizations
- United States Air Force Academy