tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37589721331585843.post603117152702929715..comments2024-03-26T11:33:59.219-06:00Comments on Religion in American History: Evangelical Chaplains and Don't Ask, Don't TellPaul Harveyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13881964303772343114noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37589721331585843.post-70462171724903844322010-12-09T21:22:50.056-07:002010-12-09T21:22:50.056-07:00Thanks for posting this story, Randall. It highli...Thanks for posting this story, Randall. It highlights why military chaplaincies represent a problematic intersection of church and state. <br /><br />As cases such as <a href="http://religiousfreedom.lib.virginia.edu/court/gold_v_wein.html" rel="nofollow">Goldman v. Weinberger</a> have demonstrated, the military has the power to restrict religious (and of course other) rights. <br /><br />At the same time, I agree with Dennis Camp, who (according to the NPR story) <i>says the proposed rules clearly protect a chaplain's religious rights. What chaplains can't do, he says, is act like "moral policemen" and openly condemn homosexuality. The chaplain's job is to serve everyone — religious or not, gay or straight.<br /><br />"They have made it an issue because they want to fight this thing on moral grounds," he says. "That's not the kind of fight it is. It's a civil rights issue."</i><br /><br />But of course the evangelical chaplains would most likely not agree with this distinction. And the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" would become yet another grievance to heighten their sense that gays and lesbians are receiving "special rights" while their own religious freedoms are stripped.Brantley Gasawayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02894338478934982958noreply@blogger.com