Making Sense of Conflicting Claims About Prayer Ban for Military Chaplains at Official Ceremonies

Sentries stand at the National War Memorial in Ottawa during the Remembrance Day ceremony on Nov. 11, 2021. The Canadian Press/Justin Tang

Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre raised objections this week that military chaplains “are banned from prayers at Remembrance Day ceremonies.”

Defence Minister Bill Blair in turn said that the military Chaplain General “never did ban prayer.”

While the different claims may make it confusing to know what actually changed after a new directive from the chaplain general last year, it takes close examination of the words used by politicians and the military chaplaincy command to understand what is now forbidden and what isn’t by the military.

Meanwhile, the Royal Canadian Legion, which organizes the National Remembrance Day ceremony in Ottawa as well as many others across the country, has issued its own statement on the mater.

The non-profit veterans’ organization has said that prayer remains an integral part of Remembrance Day ceremonies, but also noted that while military chaplains are required to “modify” their language during the ceremonies, “other spiritual representatives” (as opposed to military chaplains) are not forbidden to pray to God or a higher power at these functions.

The Change

The new directive was issued by Brig.-Gen. Guy Bélisle on Oct. 11, 2023. Specifically, the new directive replaces the 2013 policy on “public prayer at military ceremonies” with “spiritual reflection in public settings.”

In the 2013 directive, before engaging in prayer at a ceremony, chaplains were required to invite those not disposed to praying to “use that time for silent personal reflection or contemplation as others pray.”

The new directive notes that for some, “prayer does not play a role in their lives.”

Instead, it provides guidance that during mandatory public military ceremonies, such as Remembrance Day events, chaplains should conduct “reflections” that must be “inclusive in nature.”

“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.

The new directive also restricts chaplains from wearing any religious symbols at public military functions.

A Department of National Defence (DND) spokesperson confirmed to The Epoch Times last year that as part of the new requirements, “chaplains should not use the word ‘God’ or other references to a higher power such as ‘Heavenly Father.’”

Chaplain General Bélisle said the new directive was needed after a 2015 Supreme Court decision requiring state religious neutrality, which he said the Royal Canadian Chaplain Service “has a legal obligation to abide by.”

The directive also notes that those who don’t abide by the requirements may be subject to disciplinary actions.

2023 Reactions and Exemption

The announcement of the new directive last year led to strong objections by many chaplains.

As reported previously by The Epoch Times, an Oct. 19, 2023, internal email by a military personnel management officer noted that the army was observing the “release of some Chaplains based on this directive.”

At the time, the Conservatives also raised objections about the issue, with Poilievre saying on Oct. 19, 2023, that, “Our veterans don’t have a prayer under Trudeau.” Minister Blair said at the time that the Tories were spreading “misinformation,” and that “chaplains are not–and will not be–banned from prayer on Remembrance Day, nor at any other time.”

In response to the backlash, Chaplain General Bélisle allowed an exemption ahead of the 2023 Remembrance Day, saying chaplains who so wish, can conduct the ceremony in accordance with the practice that was in place before the new directive.

He added that a committee will be formed to review the new directive. That committee still hasn’t made any recommendations.

DND spokesperson Derek Abma told The Epoch Times last week that the committee’s work is still “ongoing,” and that all chaplains are required to follow the new directive.

Chaplains were also reminded of the new requirement ahead of this year’s Remembrance Day ceremonies.

“As a reminder to the team that if military members are mandated or expected to attend an event, we can presume that they represent a diversity of beliefs, including none,” says a Nov. 5 email by Col. Lisa Pacarynuk, director of Chaplaincy Operations, Royal Canadian Chaplain Service, which was seen by The Epoch Times.

Latest Statements

The Conservatives once again were vocal on the issue ahead of this year’s Remembrance Day, and the Liberal government issued its own statements in response.

“Contrary to what Liberals claimed last year, Chaplains are banned from prayers at Remembrance Day ceremonies,” Poilievre said on the X platform on Nov. 8. “Canadians should be free to practise their faith alongside fellow Canadians as we commemorate those who made the ultimate sacrifices for our freedoms.”

The Conservatives asked that the House Committee on Veterans Affairs be recalled to review the matter.

The issue was raised by Conservative MP Chris Warkentin in the House of Commons on Nov. 8.

“Will the government end its attack on the vocation of chaplains and allow them the freedom to pray?” Warkentin said.

While Warkentin specifically referred to the limitation on chaplains, Liberal MP Marie-France Lalonde, parliamentary secretary to the minister of national defence, referred to a more general “ban on prayers” in her response on behalf of the government.

“Let’s be absolutely clear, the chaplain general issued this directive independently, and it does not ban prayer,” she said.

“Actually, the directive simply seeks to help our CAF [Canadian Armed Forces] chaplains make their public addresses more inclusive to reflect the spiritual diversity of Canadians and our CAF members.”

However, in sharing a video of the exchange on X later on Nov. 8, Warkentin also referred to a prayer ban.

“Liberals are trying to ban prayer at our Remembrance Day ceremonies .....again,” he wrote.

Conservative MP and defence critic James Bezan also on Nov. 8 shared his party’s statement on the issue, which noted specifically that the government is banning “military chaplains from praying during Remembrance Day ceremonies.” In his own post, however, he referred to a “ban on prayer.”

“The Liberals’ ban on prayer is an insult to our veterans who should be free to commemorate Remembrance Day how they see fit and in accordance with their beliefs and traditions,” he said.

The defence minister issued a statement on Nov. 9, focusing on the details that the Chaplain General’s directive “never did ban prayer.”

Blair added that the new directive, which he said the government had no part in, is about “expanding participation in the reflections of military chaplains—not about limiting it.”

“Any suggestions to the contrary are inaccurate and wrong,” he said, while adding that the Conservatives are “peddling lies for partisan political gain.”

In response, Conservative MP Michelle Rempel Garner said on X, “You literally, actually took the word ‘prayer’ out of the directive. Now you’re lying about it.”

Conservative MP Frank Caputo referenced a statement from Bishop Scott McCaig, who is outside the military chain of command but oversees Catholic chaplains in the military, in which he said that the “forbidding of all religious expression at mandatory military events does indeed give the impression that the government is preferring non-religion over religion.”

“The previous policy required a preamble before prayer by a Chaplain, which invited all assembled to pray or reflect according to their own beliefs,” McCaig said. “It is unclear how this policy violated the religious conscience rights guaranteed by the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.”

Reference to God in Ottawa Ceremonies

Although the new directive only came into force in 2023, it seems chaplains general were already observing the spirit of the directive’s ideas when speaking on Remembrance Day starting in 2019.

The last time God was mentioned by a chaplain general at the National Remembrance Day Ceremony in Ottawa was in 2018.

That year, then-Chaplain General Major-General Guy Chapdelaine started his address in accordance with the old directive by inviting attendees who so wished to join in prayer, while saying others could engage in a moment of personal reflection.

“I invite all of you wishing to join me in prayer based on your individual beliefs to now turn your hearts to the God of your faith, or to take this moment for personal reflection,” he said in French.

“Loving God, we give thanks to those who have given their lives in the service of justice and peace. We know that peace is more than tolerating one another. It is recognizing ourselves in others and realizing that we are all on the path of life together,” he continued in English.

“Lord of justice and peace, enable us to lay down our own weapons of exclusion, intolerance, hatred. Make us instruments of your peace.”

However, during the 2019 ceremony, Chapdelaine did not mention God at all.

“In respecting individual beliefs and conscience, I invite you to take this moment for contemplation,” he said.

“In the presence of our veterans, the living embodiment of valour and service, we pause to remember our men and women who serve our country that we might live in freedom and peace.”

Since taking over as chaplain general in 2021, Bélisle has been continuing the same approach.

“As we gather in this place of sacred memory, may these words I share now be for some the prayers of your heart, for others a reflection of your heartfelt thanksgiving, and for all may these words speak to our duty to remember,” he said during his 2023 Remembrance Day Ceremony address, which was shared with Deputy Chaplain General Navy Capt. Bonita Mason.

“Let us remember that the Tomb of The Unknown Soldier represents thousands of Canadian faces and names. May each name become an additional motivation to work for peace and to put an end to the conflicts and divisions that plague our world,” Mason said in her address.

Noé Chartier contributed to this report.