by
A Canadian Armed Forces member blasted the new ‘Spiritual reflections in military settings’ edict that restricts prayer and references to God at public events.
(LifeSiteNews) — A Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) member blasted a new “spiritual reflections” military policy direction that essentially bans using any religious-specific language or even references to God in most military ceremonies.
“We used to have a robust and inclusive prayer policy where we could pray in an inclusive way that aligned with our faith traditions,” a CAF member told LifeSiteNews under condition of anonymity.
The CAF member noted that the previous prayer policy is “very important in our tradition around commemorating the dead, Remembrance Day, Battle of Britain, Battle of the Atlantic, and (so on).”
“However, now we are not allowed to pray in public. The new policy means chaplains can only do a secular reflection in public.”
On July 29, the CAF officially released what its “Spiritual reflections in military settings” policy that provides direction to both military chaplains and CAF members on what is expected during military ceremonies.
The new policy mandates that when CAF members give public or even semi-public remarks at an event such as a Remembrance Day ceremony, they “shall uphold the principle of state religious and spiritual neutrality by not using words, actions, or symbols that are specific to a particular spiritual or faith tradition (SFT) on the part of the Government of Canada.”
“This does not include personal religious items of dress, which may be worn as authorized by the CAF Dress Instructions,” the CAF noted.
Instead, CAF members must offer a godless and “inclusive” spiritual reflection instead for the following:
-
graduation parades;
-
change of command ceremonies;
-
ship commissioning;
-
ribbon-cuttings/ dedications for infrastructure projects;
-
honours and awards ceremonies;
-
festive/ Seasonal or Mess dinners; or
-
other military institutional commemorations (e.g. Remembrance Day, Battle of Britain, Battle of the Atlantic).
At this time, it appears that military and state funerals are not included in the new policy. However, “Indigenous Cultural Practices” are afforded a wider berth than traditional faiths such as Christianity.
The new policy direction is not a surprise. In 2023, the CAF issued a directive that put harsh restrictions on public prayer. After public backlash, including from many CAF members. the orders were rescinded.