On July 9, 1776, George Washington put forth general orders, among which read as follows: “The Honorable Continental Congress having been pleased to allow a Chaplain to each Regiment, with the pay of $33 and one third per month - The Colonels or commanding officers of each regiment are directed to procure Chaplains.”

During World War II and into the post-war period, two religions had chaplains: Christian (Protestant and Roman Catholic) and Jewish. There are now five religions with chaplains: Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist and Hindu.

The U.S. military recognizes 221 different faith or religious groups (https://www.worldreligionnews.com), some of which are Humanism, Asatru, Heathenism, Wicca, various Christian denominations, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, and Buddhist denominations. According to the Department of War, this ensures that service members in relatively obscure religious groups have the same rights, privileges and protections as those in larger religious groups. It is hard to find any information that the larger religious groups are given preferential treatment versus the relatively obscure religious groups in the military.

Recently, the Department of War put forth “The United States Army Spiritual Fitness Guide.” This is a 112-page document that states, “In our challenging world, spiritual fitness is essential for resilience, adaptability and mission readiness. This guide provides soldiers with many spiritual resources necessary to thrive in demanding environments and navigate life’s complexities with resolve. The guide mentions “God” once, “feelings” 11 times, the word “playfulness” six times, “soul” four times, and “me” 32 times. It should be noted that the guide includes the following disclaimer: “This guide references third-party sources and websites which are NOT officially endorsed by the U.S. Army, but are relevant and widely-respected.”

Having read the 112-page “Spiritual Guide,” one comes away with the notion that this is an ideological thesis rather than a writing on spirituality. For instance, the guide recommends that a soldier explore identity: “Who am I, what core values are most important, what experiences have shaped my identity, who is someone that is most like the person I aspire to be, and what identity do I want to project.” Sounds like identity politics.

The guide defines the spiritual fitness principles: simplicity, consistency, unity of effort, sustainability, economy, responsiveness, flexibility and integration (the E in DEI, diversity, equity, inclusion). The guide puts forth the four stages of spiritual development: “external (to me),” “agency (by me),” “purposed (through me),” and “empowered (as me).” None of these focuses on the Supreme Being. Some of it sounds like a word salad, and is difficult to understand. Social media emphasizes worship of self i.e. everything has to do with me. Religious people are looking beyond self, worshiping a higher deity.

Recently, Buddhist, Hindu, and Muslim chaplains have joined the ranks of the Christian and Jewish chaplains. The military has allowed Sikhs of the Sikh religion to wear turbans and beards. So much for uniform standards. One wonders how this affects the wearing of helmets during combat.

All this is evidence of DEI, which is causing the military to focus on individual identities rather than on the solidarity characteristic of effective war-fighting units.

The Secretary of War has indicated that there is a weakening of the chaplain’s corps’ moral and spiritual backbone. Political correctness and secular humanism have made chaplains into therapists instead of ministers of the spirit. The Secretary of War stated that he had “a directive right here that I will sign today to eliminate the use of the Army Spiritual Fitness Guide, effective immediately.”

Emphasizing the teachings of various religions may lead to internal conflict. For instance, the Koran suggests that non-believers should be treated harshly. Not good for unit cohesion. In the past, soldiers with varied religious beliefs got along without any difficulty when religion was not emphasized as much as it is now. However, there is one desire that binds all religious people together, which is not DEI. It is that most religious practitioners desire to end up in heaven, but many do not want to take the journey.

Chuck Roberts is a freelance writer in Rochelle