{"id":32322,"date":"2018-03-26T15:44:46","date_gmt":"2018-03-26T15:44:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2018\/03\/26\/no-atheistchaplains-lawmakers-tell-navy\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T19:21:38","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T19:21:38","slug":"no-atheistchaplains-lawmakers-tell-navy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2018\/03\/26\/no-atheistchaplains-lawmakers-tell-navy\/","title":{"rendered":"No \u2018atheist\u2019 chaplains, lawmakers tell Navy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Lawmakers are applauding a decision by Navy officials to reject the application of a secular humanist \u2014 called an atheist by many \u2014 to be a Navy chaplain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It\u2019s the second time the sea service has declined to accept <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/2014\/06\/27\/push-for-1st-humanist-chaplain-continues-after-rejection\" title=\"\" class=\"\" target=\"_blank\">Jason Heap<\/a>, who calls himself a \u201chumanist\u201d and and a \u201cnon-theist,\u201d into the chaplain corps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A \u201chumanist\u201d is one who doesn\u2019t believe in a god, but in the natural ability of humans to \u201clead meaningful, ethical lives capable of adding to the greater good of humanity,\u201d according to the Humanist Society.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The latest denial of Heap\u2019s application is at the center of a debate on whether or not one who doesn\u2019t believe in a deity can serve as a military chaplain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Despite the swirling debate around Heap\u2019s beliefs, or lack thereof, no one is denying his qualifications. Heap holds a master\u2019s degree in divinity from Texas Christian University as well as a theological history degree from Oxford.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2015\/05\/24\/after-6-years-heathenism-religious-code-still-in-limbo\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"200\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/635677294776258139-hammer-of-thorjpg.jpg?w=200\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">After 6 years, Heathenism religious code still in limbo<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">A DoD-wide review has put the brakes on a process that one former soldier started in 2009.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A total of 67 lawmakers \u2014 22 senators and 45 congressmen \u2014 signed a one of two letters to Navy leadership demanding the Navy reject Heap\u2019s application.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The senators sent their <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wicker.senate.gov\/public\/_cache\/files\/7ec2a4af-f350-41ee-8a17-dadbef0c19e1\/atheist-chaplain-letter-to-secnav-cno---12-march.pdf\" title=\"\" class=\"\" target=\"_blank\">letter<\/a> to Secretary of the Navy Richard Spencer and Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson on March 12. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Meanwhile, congressmen sent their <a href=\"https:\/\/jones.house.gov\/sites\/jones.house.gov\/files\/Role%20of%20Chaplain%20Letter.pdf\" title=\"\" class=\"\" target=\"_blank\">letter<\/a> to directly to the Navy\u2019s chief of chaplains, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.navytimes.com\/news\/your-navy\/2015\/11\/25\/navy-chaplain-corps-focuses-on-enrichment-in-240th-year\/\">Rear Adm. Margaret G. Kibben<\/a>, after learning that Heap\u2019s application had cleared the first hurdle in the selection process, meaning a Navy board had determined he was qualified to take on the role.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt is our understanding that the Navy Chaplain Appointment and Retention Eligibility Advisory Group has recommended accepting Dr. Jason Heap to serve as a secular-humanist chaplain,\u201d the 45 Republican members of the House of Representatives wrote in the March 9 letter, which was also sent to Vice Adm. Robert P. Burke, the chief of naval personnel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"240\" height=\"239\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/m6201410306260080arjpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-63603\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/m6201410306260080arjpg.jpg 240w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/m6201410306260080arjpg.jpg?resize=150,150 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 240px) 100vw, 240px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Jason Heap (Courtesy Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Both Burke and Kibben play a part in the final decision-making process of selecting new chaplains, Navy officials confirmed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe are concerned that the Navy is taking steps to expand the chaplain corps beyond its focused purpose&#8230;the chaplaincy was designed to facilitate the exercise of religious belief, not philosophical belief \u2014 this is the bright line that the Department of Defense must use in defining the boundaries of the chaplain corps.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2015\/11\/25\/navy-chaplain-corps-focuses-on-enrichment-in-240th-year\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"214\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/635840430264207149-kibbenjpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Navy Chaplain Corps focuses on enrichment in 240th year<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">As long as there has been a Navy, leaders have called on chaplains to keep sailors on an even spiritual keel.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But others view military chaplains as an entity that serves critical roles far beyond religion, such as counseling and providing mental health services to those in need. In performing those duties, chaplains take on a role of accommodating the spiritual needs of other service members, instead of espousing their own beliefs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Department of Defense has gradually recognized more \u201cbeliefs\u201d beyond traditional religion, resulting in a 2017 decision to change the lingo the military used to identify a service member\u2019s preferences from \u201cFaith Codes\u201d to \u201cFaith and Belief Codes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">These codes allow military members to have more options to place on their dog tags and denote in military records.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Shifting away from faith codes coincided with DoD\u2019s recognition of the humanist belief system and an allowance of using the word \u201catheist\u201d or \u201cagnostic\u201d for record-keeping.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Many viewed this move as a step toward allowing chaplains from non-traditional organizations into service. And now those organizations say the Navy\u2019s decision \u2014 along with lawmakers stepping into the selection process \u2014 is a step backward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe facts speak for themselves \u2014 the Navy Chaplain Appointment and Retention Eligibility Advisory Board recommended the approval of a qualified humanist chaplain,\u201d Casey Brescia, spokesman for the Secular Coalition for America told Navy Times. \u201cYet despite their recommendation, members of Congress needlessly inserted themselves into the process and took extraordinary steps to halt the confirmation of what would have been the military\u2019s first humanist chaplain. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt is absolutely reprehensible that members of Congress would expend so much energy just to ensure that nontheist service members, wearing the uniform of the United States Navy, are denied access to a humanist chaplain.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The number of non-believers in the ranks is growing, according to the Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers, who estimate that there are more than 24,000 professed non-believers serving today. That number, they say, has tripled in less than a decade, growing from less than one percent in 2009 to almost two percent in 2017.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., said that he and the rest of the letter\u2019s signatories are sensitive to the needs of service members who don\u2019t believe in a deity, but because they don\u2019t believe in a traditional religion, Wicker says they shouldn\u2019t serve as chaplains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI hope our Navy leaders recognize that it is well within their authority to create programs outside of the Chaplain Corps to serve humanist or atheist service members,\u201d Wicker wrote in a March 15 press release. \u201cHowever, allowing a non-religious worldview to be represented among the Chaplain Corps would set a dangerous precedent for the military. What is to stop future demands for other philosophical preferences to be included in the Chaplain Corps as well?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Navy officials have declined to comment on the decision.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/your-military\/2015\/06\/18\/navy-lawyers-defend-rejection-of-atheist-chaplain\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/635702411840385810-90471jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Navy lawyers defend rejection of atheist chaplain<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Jason Heap was a 38-year-old former youth minister with a master&#039;s degree in divinity from Texas Christian University when he applied to become a Navy chaplain.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cDue to Privacy Act restrictions, the Department of the Navy is unable to disclose a specific individual\u2019s application to the chaplain corps or disposition of that application,\u201d Navy spokesman Lt. Ben Anderson told Navy Times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Navy officials traditionally don\u2019t openly discuss any selection process, citing that to do so would jeopardize impartiality in the system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Heap initially applied to be a chaplain with the Navy in 2013 and was denied, prompting a law suit filed by him against the Navy for discrimination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Since DoD\u2019s recognition of humanism as an official belief, Heap has made multiple attempts to land the job, but continues to be rejected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Navy Times attempted to contact Heap through the humanist organization, Center for Inquiry, but was told he was \u201cunavailable for interviews,\u201d according to Jason Lemieux, spokesman for the organization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cOur understanding is that Dr. Heap continues to be interested in serving as a chaplain but has not yet decided on his next step.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When lawmakers got wind of the fact the Navy was just a step away from approving a non-believing Navy chaplain, 67 of them demanded the service withdraw the selection.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":63598,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":65,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":{"2":{"categories":["your-military","news"],"primary_category":"your-military"},"4":{"categories":["your-air-force","news","daily-news-roundup","newsletters"],"primary_category":"your-air-force"},"5":{"categories":["your-army","news","daily-news-roundup","newsletters"],"primary_category":"your-army"},"6":{"categories":["your-marine-corps","news","daily-news-roundup","newsletters"],"primary_category":"your-marine-corps"}}},"categories":[101,12,26,65],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3087],"class_list":["post-32322","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-news","category-newsletters","category-your-navy"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"KJ5LPJW5DZE2PPLH23UY7P5R6U","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/your-navy\/2018\/03\/26\/no-atheistchaplains-lawmakers-tell-navy\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>No \u2018atheist\u2019 chaplains, lawmakers tell Navy - Navy Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"When lawmakers got wind of the fact the Navy was just a step away from approving a non-believing Navy chaplain, 67 of them demanded the service withdraw the selection.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2018\/03\/26\/no-atheistchaplains-lawmakers-tell-navy\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"No \u2018atheist\u2019 chaplains, lawmakers tell Navy\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"When lawmakers got wind of the fact the Navy was just a step away from approving a non-believing Navy chaplain, 67 of them demanded the service withdraw the selection.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2018\/03\/26\/no-atheistchaplains-lawmakers-tell-navy\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Navy Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-03-26T15:44:46+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-08T19:21:38+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Mark D. Faram\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Mark D. Faram\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\n\t    \"@context\": \"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\n\t    \"@graph\": [\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Article\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/news\\\/your-navy\\\/2018\\\/03\\\/26\\\/no-atheistchaplains-lawmakers-tell-navy\\\/#article\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/news\\\/your-navy\\\/2018\\\/03\\\/26\\\/no-atheistchaplains-lawmakers-tell-navy\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"author\": {\n\t                \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/navytimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"headline\": \"No 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