Evangelical Chaplains and Don't Ask, Don't Tell

Randall Stephens

I heard an interesting story on NPR this morning: "Chaplains Worry About Careers If 'Don't Ask' Is Lifted" by Barbara Bradley Hagerty. It seems that the end of the Don't Ask, Don't tell policy has been making some evangelical chaplains nervous. But should it? The military's change in policy centers on a civil rights matter. How will that alter the careers of conservative chaplains?

While most military personnel see no problem serving with openly gay comrades, some military chaplains are bristling. Many of the 3,000 chaplains are evangelical and believe repealing the "don't ask, don't tell" policy may affect how they do their jobs.

Ronald Crews, a retired Army colonel and chaplain, works with active chaplains from his evangelical denomination. A few months ago, he began asking military chaplains what they thought about repealing don't ask, don't tell. One response in particular bothered him. The chaplain had just returned from a briefing by a general about the impact of changing the policy and asked if the military would protect him if he asserted that homosexuality is a sin.>>>

Anyone out there know how Truman's 1948 decision to desegregate the military was received by chaplains?