EXCLUSIVE: ‘Woke Mentality’: Military Chaplains Decry New Directive Banning Religious Prayer

Veterans remove their hats during prayer at a Remembrance Day ceremony in Quebec City on Nov. 11, 2016. The Canadian Press/Jacques Boissinot

Serving military chaplains say a new directive preventing them from leading religious prayer during official functions is causing consternation in the ranks, and is due to the “woke mentality” taking over their organization.

On Oct. 11, a month before Remembrance Day, one of the most important military ceremonies, the Office of the Chaplain General issued a new policy that replaces public prayer with non-religious “spiritual reflections.”

The Department of National Defence (DND) confirmed to The Epoch Times that under the new directive, chaplains can’t use words such as “God” and “Heavenly Father” in official ceremonies.

“Chaplains shall endeavour to ensure that all feel included and able to participate in the reflection with a clear conscience, no matter their beliefs (religious, spiritual, agnostic, atheist),” the directive says.

Three Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) chaplains who spoke with The Epoch Times deplored what they say is the purging of traditional values and the loss of meaning for their role. Pseudonyms have been given to protect them from reprisal.

“This woke mentality, or I don’t know how you want to call it, has really taken over the chaplaincy and they’re using threats and fear to really control and submit everyone into obedience,” said chaplain Frank.

He said he thought he was alone in becoming increasingly worried about traditional values being slowly erased from the chaplaincy, but his view changed after meeting a large group of his colleagues who feel the same way.

“I think that there’s definitely a silent majority that’s very worried, [but] no one is willing to talk about it publicly,” he said.

Frosty poppies sit atop a tombstone on Remembrance Day at the National Military Cemetery in Ottawa on Nov. 11, 2021. The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick

Chaplain Frank notes the new directive is meant to be applied in chaplaincy training programs and also to discipline those who step out of line.

“What it seems to mean is, ‘Don’t say anything, don’t even try to do anything, because if you do anything wrong, we will pull your mandate.’”

The directive cautions chaplains, or padres as they’re known in the ranks, to “carefully choose words that are inclusive” while delivering a reflection in a public setting. “They should employ a language mindful of the Gender Based Analysis (GBA+) principles,” it adds.

Chaplain Frank says the chaplaincy has given itself carte blanche to remove a member if he or she doesn’t push the “woke agenda” enough.

He says chaplains are now afraid to lose their role, because they’re attached to the communities they serve. “We love this community. As chaplains, we love the people that we’re serving,” he said.

“We walk with people in their most difficult challenge of life,” he added, giving as examples members who endure cancer treatment, kids going through separation of their parents, or those who lost a relative due to military service.

Chaplain Frank says the chaplaincy is now telling them there’s only one way to live a spiritual life, “and I think that’s so damaging.”

“In the name of diversity, we’re all going to be the same.”

‘Misinformation’

Defence Minister Bill Blair has said that chaplains can still pray on Remembrance Day and that saying otherwise is “misinformation,” but chaplain Frank asserts they are no longer able to do so as part of a public ceremony or function.

For example, he cites a segment of the directive which says soldiers are no longer required to remove their headdress before a spiritual reflection, something they previously had to do before praying.

Usually a high-ranking non-commissioned officer would give the order to remove headdress as a sign of everyone coming before God, as if entering a church, said chaplain Frank.

“There will be no more removal of headdress—this order will basically never be given anymore, because we’re not going to be doing any prayer in public anymore,” he said.

Among chaplains who don’t want to follow the new rules, some are trying to get out of participating in Remembrance Day activities, he said, while others will simply recite what is provided by the chaplain-general to avoid reprisals.

National Defence Minister Bill Blair rises during question period in the House of Commons on Sept. 29, 2023. The Canadian Press/Adrian Wyld

The DND says the new directive is meant to ensure that “public addresses reflect the spiritual and religious diversity of Canadians.”

“Where in civic ceremonies where the faith stance of participants is unknown or likely to include peoples of no expressed faith, chaplains shall avoid faith specific and exclusive language and instead speak words which will help participants remember those who have offered their lives in the service of Canada,” DND spokesperson Derek Abma said in an email.

“This directive is about expanding participation in the reflections of military chaplains and not about limiting it.”

‘New Priests’

Another chaplain holds a similar view as chaplain Frank on the situation. Chaplain Robert told The Epoch Times that advice is being passed around in the community about how to avoid having to say a “reflection” at upcoming Remembrance Day ceremonies on Nov. 11.

Chaplain Robert says colleagues he talked to don’t intend to do any “reflection” and instead leave it to the Royal Canadian Legion, since it’s in charge of the ceremonies.

“One chaplain told me: ‘Don’t play their game, don’t do any reflection. If you don’t want to be in trouble because of prayer, leave it to the Legion,’” he said.

Outside the chaplaincy, CAF members at all levels can’t believe the extent of the new directive, says chaplain Robert. “It’s not getting accepted at all. ... It’s completely disconnected from people’s reality.”

He says the policy has replaced prayer with speeches on inclusivity. “At the end of the day, an officer in charge of culture change could do the speech and it would do the job.”

Father Guy Chapdelaine, then-Chaplain General of the Canadian Armed Forces, greets a veteran at the Remembrance Day ceremony at the National War Memorial in Ottawa on Nov. 11, 2016. Art Babych/Shutterstock

These people are the “new priests of the new religion, and I have the impression that the CAF are the new field of experimentation of all these new things.”

Chaplain Robert says he has the impression of being forced to play a “political” and “ideological game.”

“Whereas all I want is to play my role, to say a prayer, to be within this tradition which honours those who gave their lives and those who are still alive,” he said. “I find it pretty sombre that we’ve reached this point.”

Chaplain Robert said he was surprised by Minister’s Blair’s declaration, but in the end it could be beneficial for padres who decide to defy the new directive and still say a religious prayer during a public function. They could refer to Mr. Blair’s assertion that prayer is still allowed as a defence, he said.

‘Cancel Religion’

Another chaplain interviewed by The Epoch Times alluded to the current crises embroiling the world, and said Canada is “blessed to have a peaceful country where we make space for each other publicly in prayer and dialogue.”

Chaplain Patrick says the government now appears to want to “destroy that legacy” and “put us on the path of radical ideology, where believers are divided against non-believers.”

“Instead of cherishing our legacy of peace, we put ourselves on the path of conflict through these reckless policies.”

He noted that many countries practice a robust form of secularism while at the same time allowing a respectful space for religion in the public space.

“We have been doing it and we could continue to do it. But we prefer instead to cancel religion in the public square,” he said.