Behind the Agenda to Rid Canada’s Military Chaplaincy of Traditional Faith Groups

A Canadian flag is seen on a Canadian Armed Forces member’s uniform, in a file photo. The Canadian Press/Lars Hagberg

Commentary

Fifteen years ago, the Royal Canadian Chaplain Service was wrestling with the corollaries of pluralism in Canada, and how to tap into the benefits of true diversity in the Canadian multicultural context.

Even though I am an orthodox Lutheran, who does not believe that all religions are equally valid expressions of truth, I was a great advocator of true pluralism, participating in the writing boards and doctrine that has led to the government’s current policy on chaplaincy in the Canadian Armed Forces.

When I served on the Interfaith Committee on Canadian Military Chaplaincy, I supported the introduction of chaplains of non-traditional faith groups because they represented the diversity of the Canadian landscape and deserved respect under our charter and Constitution. Further, true pluralism theoretically protects the integrity of “absolutist” traditional mainstream faith traditions that are not inclusive of other belief systems due to the logical law of non-contradiction.

Yet what has happened is the demise of critical thinking which has given rise to and supports a woke ideology, better described as a “woke religion,” underpinned by its own exclusivist monoculture that despises true diversity. In government of all levels, the discriminatory tenets of wokeism have hijacked the dialogue, bureaucracy, technocracy, and key players in leadership. What is frightening is that Canadians appear to be unable to see—or lack the courage to address—the explicit and implicit attacks of this dangerous religion on the values of modern democracy (again, inaccurately titled “pluralism”).

In terms of Christianity, recommendation 6.1 of the government’s “Re-Defining Chaplaincy” document is a direct attack on conservative Lutherans, historic Roman Catholics, and other Biblically-based and conservative denominations, who they no longer wish to employ. The claim that traditional church bodies that, say, do not ordain women or accept the homosexual lifestyle are sexist and homophobic is unsubstantiated, ignorant, and absurd.

The government’s real agenda is to rid the chaplaincy of chaplains of traditional faith groups because key players and elites in government find traditional morality and religion a threat to their own leftist and socialist agenda. They have argued that these religions’ beliefs contradict “defence values.” Defence values are supposed to mirror Canadian values. If the defence values still propose to reflect said values, then it is a scandalous and horrific insult to exclude traditional conservative Christians from chaplain ministry. If these values do not reflect Canadian values, well then they are a consequence of undemocratic technocratic efforts to redefine Canadian shared values, mores, and morality.

At present, such unjust and illogical policy is implying that “if you are a conservative Biblically based Christian you can’t work in the Canadian government,” and ultimately, “there is no space for your kind in Canada. Canada is proudly prejudiced against traditional Christians because we government bureaucrats and technocrats say so.”

Further, underlying this “redefining” of the chaplaincy is a view that true diversity of chaplains—diversity that includes traditional and conservative values—does not matter and is dangerous, which, again, is un-Canadian, irrational, and means our troops are less spiritually resilient and equipped for mission success. Such a mindset unveils the degree to which our government and military leadership does not actually value the raison d’être of military chaplains, who are not just religious figureheads but work hard to heal wounded soldiers of their brokenness.

Historically, the chaplain mandate has been to serve members of their own denominations first, then ensure those of other religions and faith groups receive spiritual and religious services, and finally, care for all members of CAF, in spite of their religious or spiritual beliefs. The principles underlying the “redefining” of the chaplaincy, obviously driven by the politicization of the military, would deprive members of those essential and historical services.

Soldiers who are struggling and faithfully serving our great nation deserve to be served by chaplains of their own faith groups and not deprived of those spiritual and religious services due to the woke crusade led by the priests and priestesses of the Liberal government. For example, when, say, traditional Christian members with PTSD are seeking spiritual support (prayer, scriptural, counsel, etc.) from the chaplaincy, as so many do, under the proposed policy they are unlikely to receive any from a chaplain who holds the same faith as they do.

The results? Well, our broken and demoralized military is yet to experience the spiritual and psychological impact of such poor decision-making.

Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.