Thirteenth International Conference on Religion & Spirituality in Society

Abstract

This paper examines the model of religious pluralism promoted in the U.S. military through the agency of the chaplaincy in the period between the Vietnam and Gulf Wars–a model I call free market (religious) pluralism. I demonstrate the way this form of pluralism was informed by a shift in US constitutional jurisprudence in which there was a growing emphasis on the free exercise of religion over the separation of church and state. This shift is especially evident in the Katcoff v Marsh case of 1979 in which the military chaplaincy was charged with violating the U.S. constitution. In response, the military began to frame the work of the chaplaincy as a “free exercise” role meant to protect the constitutional right of religion among individuals who are free to choose a form of religious expression from among military sanctioned options in the marketplace of religion. Close reading and analysis of the Military Chaplains’ Review, a Department of Defense (DOD) publication (1971-1992), along with literature on pluralism, will be used to show more clearly the institutional production of free market (religious) pluralism within the military, and the challenges this posed for its chaplains who were tasked with its implementation. Ultimately, the religion positive posture of free market pluralism recast the chaplaincy as a generic service to all military personnel, without addressing the existential tension many military chaplains began to feel between expressing their particular religious identity and being a generic something to everyone they serve.