Newsweek: Military Chaplains and the War in Iraq

An article about “how chaplains, soldiers keep faith during [the war in Iraq]” is the cover story in the May 7th, 2007, issue of Newsweek. While the article revolves entirely around chaplains of the Protestant Christian variety, it is nonetheless valuable in terms of how well it highlights issues facing military chaplains of all religious stripes right now. Reporter Eve Conant writes:

    It is up to military chaplains to help relieve battlefield stress, even as they may be suffering themselves. According to a 2006 military study, 27 percent of chaplains and their assistants in the field reported burnout levels that were “high” or “very high.” Some of the potential effects of what the Army calls “provider fatigue” are acutely troubling for chaplains: hopelessness and doubts about spirituality.

    [...]

    Military chaplains are further stressed because there aren’t enough of them. About 2,700 chaplains minister to an active-duty force of 1.4 million, meaning there’s one chaplain for every 518 service members. In peacetime, the ratio is deemed adequate. But with the military fighting two wars, service members often need daily counseling to cope with emotional trauma. Many soldiers suffer spiritual doubts in war, but the stresses can be especially acute for chaplains. By ministering to men and women who are struggling to keep faith, many are forced to confront their own doubt again and again.

Stories like those of Army Chaplain Roger Benimoff are very effective in terms of driving home these facts, in that they offer the reader a striking sample of the human stories behind the statistics.

Elsewhere in the piece, Conant considers the practice of other religions as well as the possible intrusion of religion into the lives of soldiers serving in Iraq. She writes:

    About 80 percent of soldiers polled in a 2006 Military Times survey said they felt free to practice their religion within the military. But the same poll found that 36 percent of troops found themselves at official gatherings at least once a month that were supposed to be secular but started with a prayer.

The latest issue of Newsweek also includes pieces about the history of military chaplaincy and the work of Jewish and Muslim chaplains that are worth a read.