Source: https://www.atheists.org/legal/faq/armed-forces/
Timestamp: 2019-04-23 00:24:13+00:00

Document:
Is it legal for my commanding officer to require me to attend a religious event?
Department of Defense Instruction (DoDI) 1300.17, Accommodation of Religious Practices Within the Military Services, instructs that, “The DoD places a high value on the rights of members of the Military Services to observe the tenets of their respective religions or to observe no religion at all.” DoDI 1300.17(4)(a). To that end, “unless it could have an adverse impact on military readiness, unit cohesion, and good order and discipline, the Military Departments will accommodate individual expressions of sincerely held beliefs (conscience, moral principles, or religious beliefs) of Service members.” DoDI 1300.17(4)(b). Exactly what could constitute an “adverse impact” on things like unit cohesion is unclear.
If a service member seeks an accommodation through the chain of command but is still ordered to attend a religious ceremony, service, or other event, she may seek assistance from her Service’s Military Equal Opportunity office by following the procedures for either an informal or formal complaint for religious discrimination. The MEO may then investigate the matter and attempt to formulate a solution.
The Court pointed out, though, that the governmental body hosting the prayer also has to ensure that participation in the event is voluntary, for both the government officials and the audience observing the event. If the officials “directed the public to participate in the prayers, singled out dissidents for opprobrium, or indicated that their decisions might be influenced by a person’s acquiescence in the prayer opportunity,” the practice would run afoul of both the Free Exercise and Establishment Clauses of the First Amendment.8 This reasoning would suggest that permitting a chaplain to offer a prayer at a military event, where the attendance of service members is required, may violate the Free Exercise and Establishment Clauses, regardless of the form of the prayer.
If you, or a friend or family member, is a service member who has been coerced into attending religious events, please report the incident to the American Atheists Legal Center.
1. Mindes v. Seaman, 453 F.2d 197, 201 (5th Cir. 1971).
2. Anderson v. Laird, 466 F.2d 283, 296-97 (D.C. Cir. 1972).
3. U.S. Const. Amend I.; Lemon v. Kurtzman, 403 U.S. 602, 612 (1971).
4. Lee v. Weisman, 505 U.S. 577, 587 (1992) (internal quote omitted); see also Zorach v. Clauson, 343 U.S. 306, 314 (1952); Everson v. Board of Education, 330 U.S. 1, 15-16 (1947).
5. Marsh v. Chambers, 463 U.S. 783 (1983).
6. Town of Greece v. Galloway, ___ U.S. ___, 134 S.Ct. 1811 (2014).
7. Town of Greece v. Galloway, ___ U.S. ___, 134 S.Ct. 1811, 1821-22 (2014).
8. Town of Greece v. Galloway, ___ U.S. ___, 134 S.Ct. 1811, 1826 (2014).
Is it legal for the military to employ chaplains?
1. U.S. Const., Amend 1.
2. Comm. for Public Educ. & Religious Liberty v. Nyquist, 413 U.S. 756, 788 (1973).
3. Zorach v. Clauson, 343 U.S. 306, 314 (1952).
4. Lynch v. Donnelly, 465 U.S. 668, 673 (1984).
5. Abington Sch. Dist. v. Schempp, 374 U.S. 203, 297-98 (1963) (Brennan, concurring).
6. Katcoff v. Marsh, 755 F.2d 223, 234 (2d Cir. 1985).
7. Katcoff v. Marsh, 755 F.2d 223, 232 (2d Cir. 1985) (citing Everson v. Board of Ed., 330 U.S. 1, 15-16 (1947)).
8. U.S. Const., Art. 1, § 8; see also Katcoff v. Marsh, 755 F.2d 223, 233 (2d Cir. 1985).
9. Orloff v. Willoughby, 345 U.S. 83, 93 (1953).
10. Katcoff v. Marsh, 755 F.2d 223, 234 (2d Cir. 1985).

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