Can a Christian Serve in the U.S. Armed Forces?

Perhaps you’ve seen the video clip.  Coast Guard Rear Admiral William Lee recently told a National Day of Prayer gathering on Capitol Hill that religious liberty in the U.S. military is being threatened and that service members are being told to hide their faith in Christ.  “As one general so aptly put it – they expect us to check our religion in at the door – don’t bring that here.”  Lee said, “Leaders like myself are feeling the constraints of rules and regulations and guidance issued by lawyers that put us in a tighter and tighter box regarding our constitutional right to express our religious faith.”

 

The crowd of religious leaders and lawmakers cheered for nearly a minute when Rear Admiral Lee vowed to defy any attempt to curtail religious liberty within the Armed Forces.  “I am coming out today to tell you I am not going to run from my religious beliefs, from my right under the Constitution to tell a young man there is hope,” he declared.

 

Rear Admiral Lee told the audience he had set aside his prepared remarks and instead chose to speak from the heart about the challenges facing Christian service members.  “The problem that men and women like me face in uniform who are in senior leadership positions is that the higher you are – the more vulnerable you are to being taken down,” he said.  “You get in the crosshairs of those people who lay in wait outside the gate – waiting to take us to task for expressing our faith.”

 

In recent days, the Pentagon has been accused of infringing on the religious liberty of Christian service members.  LCDR Nate Christensen said in a statement the Department of Defense has never and will never single out a particular religious group for persecution or prosecution.  “Service members can share their faith (evangelize), but must not force unwanted intrusive attempts to convert others of any faith or no faith to one’s beliefs (proselytization),” the statement read.

 

But there have been dozens of complaints about the military targeting Christians.  Recently, an Army briefing labeled Evangelical Christians and Catholics as examples of religious extremismists … in the likes of Al Qaeda and Hamas.  In another incident, an Army officer warned subordinates that the Family Research Council and American Family Association were domestic hate groups.

 

Rear Admiral Lee illustrated his argument that faith is being threatened by telling the story of a young service member who tried to commit suicide – but survived.  “When I looked at that young man and heard his story – the rules say – ‘send him to the chaplain,’” Lee told the audience, “My heart said, give this man a Bible.”  Lee said such an act would be a violation of policy.  He marveled that he could be reprimanded for “as much as whispering to a young man who is on his last hope – that there is hope.  That I can just simply whisper, ‘here is the answer – take it home – I’ll talk about it if you want to.’”  “The lawyers tell me that if I do that – I’m crossing the line,” he said.  “I’m so glad I’ve crossed that line so many times.”

 

Rear Admiral Lee said they’ve been told to “leave that to the chaplains.  I’m here to tell you there’s not enough chaplains to go around.”  He warned the audience that a religious storm was fast approaching the armed forces.  “Your armed forces, the sons and daughters of the men and women like you,” he said, “are being told to hide that light under a basket.”  He urged the gathering to pray for those who seek to follow Christ in the military.  “Pray that we will be able to weather the storm that I am almost certain will come – that we will not be required to put aside our Constitutional rights,” he said.

 

In Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, He commanded (not suggested or recommends) His followers saying  – “You are the salt of the earth.  But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again?  It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.  You are the light of the world.  A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.  Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl, instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.  In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:13-16) 

If you are a Christian, clearly your Lord expects you to be both salt and light wherever you are in the world.  The Armed Forces is just such a world!

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.
Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army
Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel