{"id":45441,"date":"2023-02-17T23:19:13","date_gmt":"2023-02-17T23:19:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2023\/02\/17\/navys-religious-needs-assessment-is-unconstitutional-critics-say\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T19:58:02","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T19:58:02","slug":"navys-religious-needs-assessment-is-unconstitutional-critics-say","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2023\/02\/17\/navys-religious-needs-assessment-is-unconstitutional-critics-say\/","title":{"rendered":"Navy\u2019s \u2018religious needs assessment\u2019 is unconstitutional, critics say"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A recent update to the Navy\u2019s instruction on religious ministry in the service \u2014 which instructs commanders to offer a \u201creligious needs assessment\u201d to sailors arriving at a new duty station \u2014 is drawing fire from some enlisted sailors and officers who argue it is unconstitutional.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/your-military\/2020\/09\/18\/pentagon-unveils-new-religious-liberty-policies-after-pressure-from-conservative-lawmakers\/\" target=\"_blank\">Military Religious Freedom Foundation<\/a>, a nonprofit representing those sailors, says the provision within <a href=\"https:\/\/www.secnav.navy.mil\/doni\/Directives\/01000%20Military%20Personnel%20Support\/01-700%20Morale,%20Community%20and%20Religious%20Services\/1730.1F.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">OPNAV Instruction 1730.1F<\/a> constitutes an illegal \u201creligious test\u201d because those who don\u2019t accept their command\u2019s offer will be signaling they aren\u2019t religious, which might be used against them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Navy says the assessment is optional and that such evaluations have been in place for nearly 30 years. The guidance was updated in November as part of a \u201cperiodic instruction review,\u201d according to the service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It stipulates that \u201ccommanders must offer new check-ins the opportunity to complete a religious needs assessment.\u201d The language is a departure from the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.secnav.navy.mil\/doni\/Directives\/01000%20Military%20Personnel%20Support\/01-700%20Morale,%20Community%20and%20Religious%20Services\/1730.7E.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">previous guidance<\/a> issued in 2012, which states that commanders shall \u201cconduct an assessment of the religious ministry requirements\u201d for their commands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The service told Navy Times that a template was created about 15 years ago, and commanders can tailor questions for their command based on that example.<\/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\/2020\/03\/23\/navy-regs-update-religious-headgear-in-uniform-provides-rules-for-beard-chits\/\" 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=\"161\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/authorized-turban-wear.jpg.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 regs update religious headgear in uniform, provides rules for beard chits<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Sikh sailors are now allowed to wear turbans, unless they interfere with protective gear.<\/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\">The guidance also adds a requirement for \u201cspiritual readiness,\u201d which the Navy describes as \u201cthe capacity for mission accomplishment that results from the warfighter\u2019s connection to the transcendent.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It is defined, according to the instruction by: 1) a connection to the divine; 2) participation in a community of faith; 3) sacrifice for the greater good; or, 4) the pursuit of meaning, purpose, value and service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cSpiritual Readiness is measured in commands by access to a chaplain; service members\u2019 engagement with the Command Religious Program (CRP); and, the training, equipage, facilities and resources of the religious ministry team (RMT), the document states.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Mikey Weinstein, president and founder of the MRFF, disputes the Navy\u2019s characterization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cNothing in the prior \u201cReligious Ministry in the Navy\u201d regulation from 2012, OPNAVINST 1730.1E, said anything even close to \u2018Commanders must offer new check-ins the opportunity to complete a religious needs assessment,\u2019 \u201d he said. \u201cNeither did the prior regulation include anything regarding what they are now calling \u2018Spiritual Readiness.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe prior \u2018Religious Ministry in the Navy\u2019 regulation was what you would expect, primarily being about the chaplaincy and its duties,\u201d Weinstein said. \u201cThe new regulation, OPNAVINST 1730.1F, completely cancels OPNAVINST 1730.1E, and is an entirely new regulation containing very little about the chaplaincy and its focus being on the commanders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The means of measuring spiritual readiness are all religious, he said, \u201cindicating that by \u2018spiritual\u2019 what they mean is \u2018religious.\u2019\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Weinstein, <a href=\"https:\/\/myemail.constantcontact.com\/MRFF-Demands-Outrageous-New-Navy-Regulation-that-Imposes--Religious-Test--on-Sailors-be-Rescinded.html?soid=1101766362531&#038;aid=c4M4QKF1pLA\" target=\"_blank\">wrote a letter<\/a> to Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro this month urging Del Toro to rescind the policy, as well as to investigate and penalize those involved in its implementation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cMRFF is thoroughly repulsed and thunderstruck that this new, wholly unconstitutional regulation has been perniciously promulgated on your watch, Mr. Secretary, and, in so doing, is fatally tearing asunder the good order, morale, discipline, and unit cohesion of the United States Navy,\u201d Weinstein wrote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">According to the Navy, the guidance aims to facilitate celebrations like Passover while sailors are deployed so the command can order the correct number of Seder kits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cCommanders are required to support the free exercise of religion for personnel under their authority,\u201d the Navy said in a statement to Navy Times. \u201cTo do this, they develop a Command Religious Program that facilitates for the religious needs of personnel. For almost three decades, the Religious Needs Assessment is the means by which the Navy identifies those needs and allocates personnel and resources to meet them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cHowever, no Sailor, Marine, or Coast Guardsman is required to provide information about their religious beliefs or lack thereof,\u201d the Navy said. \u201cIn conducting the Religious Needs Assessment, Service members are also informed that they are not required to participate.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Navy asserts the assessment is optional and that such evaluations have been in place for nearly 30 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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>Navy\u2019s \u2018religious needs assessment\u2019 is unconstitutional, critics say - Navy Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Navy asserts the assessment is optional and that such evaluations have been in place for nearly 30 years.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Navy\u2019s \u2018religious needs assessment\u2019 is unconstitutional, critics say\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Navy asserts the assessment is optional and that such evaluations have been in place for nearly 30 years.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" 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