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To: alt.satanism
From: xeper@aol.com (Xeper)
Subject: Military Religious Policy
Date: 19 Jan 1999 06:46:58 GMT

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In article <19990118200134.01022.00000396@ng-fq1.aol.com>,
xloptuny@aol.com wrote:

>Claims of atheism hold no water within the "big
>Green Machine". The only religion encouraged is
>Xtianity, period.

Technically religious discrimination of any sort is
prohibited in Army Regulations, but that is obviously
dependent upon the local chain of command's
enforcing it.

The writing is obviously on the wall with the existence
of the Corps of Chaplains, which is almost entirely
Protestant/Catholic Christian (wearing the cross on
their uniform lapel). There is provision for Jewish
chaplains (wearing the Mosaic Tablets), but according
to chaplains I spoke with, there is a constant scarcity
of Rabbis willing to take those slots. There are no
other CoC uniform lapel emblems, which sums up
the CoC for you.

The Army also funds lavish Protestant chapels and
somewhat more modest Catholic ones. Occasionally
you might see a Jewish facility, but as often as not
Jewish services tend to be held off-post in nearby
civilian communities.

Technically the Corps of Chaplains is required to
provide for the religious needs of soldiers of all
faiths, but I rather doubt that I would have been
authorized the use of a Post Chapel to summon
up Yog-sothoth there! }:-E

>I am sure Dr. Aquino could more adequately speak to
>the issue of religious discrimination in the military than I.

This became a major issue in the 1980s, both
because of the sudden publicity concerning me
and because of various other issues brought to a
head because of the decade's wave of persecutory
fundamentalism. A lot of Wiccans and neopagans
were squeezed - and reacted both angrily and
collectively via a Pagan Alliance, etc. Sikhs got
pushed around because of their headgear & beards,
and also pushed right back.

By the end of the 1980s there was a vast shakeup
in the entire Army policy in this area, most clearly
evidenced in the 1990 thorough revision of
_Religious Requirements & Practices of Certain
Selected Groups: A Handbook for Chaplains_
(DoD Contract MDA903-90-C-0062) (formerly
DA Pam 165-13). The revised book covers 13
"Christian Heritage" groups, 5 "Indian Heritage"
groups, 5 "Islamic" groups, 4 "Japanese
Heritage" groups, 5 "Sikh/Sant Mat" groups,
and 14 "Other" groups including:

Baha'i Faith
Church of Satan
Church of Scientology
Church Universal and Triumphant
Gardnerian Wicca
"I AM" Religious Activity
Native American Church
Rastafarians
Temple of Set
United Church of Religious Science
Universal Church of the Master
Universal Life Church
Vajradhatu
Wicca

[Is this a great country or what?] :-)

The _Handbook_'s official purpose is:

"To facilitate the provision of religious activities
which serve the needs of persons of certain faiths
not otherwise represented by military chaplains
and others;

"To define the specific requirements and practices
in such a way as to enable commanders at all
levels to make effective personnel decisions in
those instances where religious beliefs and
practices are claimed to be in conflict with
military directives and practices; and

"To provide the specific information about each
group in a form which has maximum utility for
military purposes, yet is approved as normative
or at least acceptable by the leaders of those
various groups under study." - Page #v

Many commanders and chaplains may not
be aware of this publication - or, if they are,
don't exactly have it ready to hand on their
desks! So I routinely advise Setians, and
other occultists in or entering the military
who contact me, to track down a copy of
this book on their own, or photocopy one
from the library of a major Chaplain office,
and keep it on hand to provide to immediate
superiors in case of a "problem" situation.

Office issuing the booklet is:

Office of the Chief of Chaplains
Department of the Army
Washington, D.C. 20310-2700

Note that while this was a DoD-level
contract, the booklet itself is Department
of the Army. I do not know whether it
exists under different labels in the
Departments of the Navy & Air Force.
If not, the Army publication would
still be a handy document for a Sailor,
Marine, or Airperson to have on hand
and be able to produce.

>Only once as a young PFC did I attempt to declare my
>beliefs (for those of you who have not served, one's religion
>is formally listed in the final line of information given on
>one's identification tags, commonly called 'dog tags')

Mine read "Satanist" 1969-75 and
"Priest of Set" 75+. I wonder how
they get "Church of the Movement for
Spiritual Inner Awareness" [from the
"Sikh/Sant Mat" category] on a dog tag!

Michael A. Aquino, Ph.D.
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