What would an atheist chaplain do?

[caketastydelish]

In B4 'what would an atheist charlie chaplain do'

 

[Mechanicalsalvation]

Chaplain without faith seems to me like politician without loyalty to his country, medic who doesnt wash his hands, soldier without morale, teacher who doesnt like people...

Again atheist chaplain can have faith. The question is: is he going to be in position to make sense and help the needed?

 

[Kyriakos]

Chaplain without faith seems to me like politician without loyalty to his country

 

[SouthernKing]

There are atheist Hindus as well. This thread title certainly could have been worded better.

That being said, yes it is perfectly possible to have irreligious chaplains.

 

[MilesGregarius]

Chaplain without faith seems to me like politician without loyalty to his country, medic who doesnt wash his hands, soldier without morale, teacher who doesnt like people...

Again atheist chaplain can have faith. The question is: is he going to be in position to make sense and help the needed?

There's no guarantee someone who claims a particular religious tradition actually has "faith."

 

[BvBPL]

Yeah. One dot in True Faith is, what, seven bonus points?

 

[bhsup]

I find it totally unacceptable. Servicemen and women wanting religious counseling and/or leadership should not have to accept some fake preacher who doesn't even believe in God.

 

[Mechanicalsalvation]

There's no guarantee someone who claims a particular religious tradition actually has "faith."

Sure but if someone claims not to have faith then there is nothing to be guaranteed.

Some people are just really good human beings who I would imagine can give encouragment on the base of their big hearts. Some people have charisma. So I would imagine it can actually work. But then again if someone is truly religious he may benefit much more from really religious guy with faith. I guess its up to employer then and what he considers more effective way.

 

[Kyriakos]

I can see it now:

<soldier with leg blown-off> Chaplain, the pain, its too much to bear, please tell me some soothing words, please speak to me of the serene afterlife that awaits me.
<Nu-Chaplain>

 

[Mechanicalsalvation]

I can see it now:

<soldier with leg blown-off> Chaplain, the pain, its too much to bear, please tell me some soothing words, please speak to me of the serene afterlife that awaits me.
<Nu-Chaplain>

Well if its "just" a leg you dont need to think of afterlife. But if there is religious chaplain nearby he can tell you: "Son, for killing all these people you deserve this and when you die you are sure to go to hell...."

 

[Lillefix]

I find it totally unacceptable. Servicemen and women wanting religious counseling and/or leadership should not have to accept some fake preacher who doesn't even believe in God.

What about people who want nonreligious counseling. Is it just as unacceptable that they have to talk to a religious person?

 

[bhsup]

What? Why would they want to go see a preacher in the first place? They can go talk to a shrink or a 'life coach' or whatever.

 

[Mechanicalsalvation]

What? Why would they want to go see a preacher in the first place? They can go talk to a shrink or a 'life coach' or whatever.

O.K. Problem solved.

 

[Kyriakos]

And there is another minor issue here: the religious chaplains go to some religious school/study and have analogous credentials to be traced back to specific institutions of that kind. What exactly would qualify one as an atheist chaplain? o_O

 

[Borachio]

It's an interesting question.

Certainly being an atheist or completely secular is no bar to having a "religious" experience, in the sense of being totally awed by the physical world. Whether that's sufficient to qualify as spiritual (c.f. psyche=spirit, which means nothing much more than the mind), I wouldn't hazard to say. Though I'd be inclined to think it is.

 

[Formaldehyde]

I find it totally unacceptable. Servicemen and women wanting religious counseling and/or leadership should not have to accept some fake preacher who doesn't even believe in God.

So then I take it that any Chaplain who isn't a Jew, Christian, or Muslim is right out? That any others are "fake preachers"?

How would you feel if no Christian "preacher" was available in a particular region?

What? Why would they want to go see a preacher in the first place? They can go talk to a shrink or a 'life coach' or whatever.

Why can't those who are religious do so as well? What is the real difference, especially if the "preacher" has a completely different religion?

 

[Kyriakos]

So then I take it that any Chaplain who isn't a Jew, Christian, or Muslim is right out? That any others are "fake preachers"?

^ Pretty sure the us army has hired chaplains for other religious orders, possibly in analogy to the numbers of believers of other faiths in the US army. Also pretty sure those other faith-chaplains studied at some kind of religious school as the christian ones did.

 

[Formaldehyde]

"Pretty sure" I already clearly documented that this particular gentleman has impeccable credentials in that regard. "Pretty sure" the Chaplains are overwhelmingly Christians and have nothing at all to do with the percentage of troops of other faiths, or lack thereof.

 

[Kyriakos]

"Pretty sure" I already clearly documented that this particular gentleman has impeccable credentials in that regard. "Pretty sure" the Chaplains are overwhelmingly Christians and have nothing at all to do with the percentage of troops of other faiths, or lack thereof.

Yeah, being "pretty sure" obviously can have many meanings. In my case it meant "it happens to be so", in yours "i don't know what is true, so i will just post something that can be taken as either funny, antagonistic, or any other vague polemic against the stated point before my own".

 

[Rashiminos]

Isn't it? I don't mean their synonymous, but doesn't atheism come with a rejection of the supernatural and isn't the supernatural a necessary component of spirituality?

Since when did spiritual imply supernatural?

I find it totally unacceptable. Servicemen and women wanting religious counseling and/or leadership should not have to accept some fake preacher who doesn't even believe in God.

Do you think the US military would force someone to consult an atheist against their religious beliefs?