House passes bill to permit chaplains freedom in prayer
- May 15, 2006 -
The House of Representatives has approved legislation that would allow military chaplains to pray in Jesus’ name at public events.
Representatives passed the measure as part of a $513 billion Department of Defense authorization bill. The House approved the overall legislation in a 396-31 vote May 11. The Armed Services Committee had attached the prayer measure to the overall bill before sending it to the full House.
The Senate will still have to approve the language as part of the authorization legislation.
The new language says: “Each chaplain shall have the prerogative to pray according to the dictates of the chaplain’s own conscience, except as must be limited by military necessity, with any such limitation being imposed in the least restrictive manner feasible.”
The provision seeks to correct what some House members have considered inappropriate military restrictions, especially on evangelical chaplains who normally follow the New Testament pattern of praying in Jesus’ name.
The Air Force issued interim guidelines in February that some evangelicals considered a move in the right direction after it had proposed more restrictive rules in 2005. Rep. Walter Jones, R.-N.C., and others said more needed to be done to protect the religious freedom of chaplains. The Navy also has issued guidelines in recent months that permit freedom in prayer by chaplains in voluntary services but call for more limits in public ceremonies in which attendance is required, according to The Washington Post.
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