Canadian Military Chaplains: Bridging the Gap Between Alienation and Operational Effectiveness in a Pluralistic and Multicultural Context

Abstract Abstract Canadian Forces' chaplains are able to negotiate the disparities between institutional goals and the human needs of military personnel through their 'ministry of presence', capacity to operate outside the chain of command, and symbolically 'neutral' rank, to provide meaningful support and pastoral care. This article uses sociological and phenomenological perspectives based on interviews with Christian military chaplains in the Canadian Forces as well as other studies on religion in Canada and religion in late modernity to examine the changing face of religion in Canada, provide an overview of the development of the Canadian Forces' Chaplain Branch, discuss new forms of religious diversity, and finally, examine how Canadian military chaplains today continue to contribute meaningfully to military operations in their ongoing support of human needs. This analysis offers insights into the alienation that can come from working in a modern bureaucratic institution, the challenges of adapting to a religiously diverse environment, and the difficulty of bridging the gap between these two spheres in order to sustain operational effectiveness. Notes 1 1 For a more thorough discussion of the development of the CFCB, see Benham Rennick (2010). 2 2 Ethics clearance for this project was given by the University of Waterloo's Office of Human Research Ethics (OHRE) and the Canadian Forces' Directorate of Human Resources Research and Evaluation (DHRRE). 3 3 Seljak notes that by ignoring Chinese religions the statistics in this report are too low for some groups and that by basing the projections on young people in these groups remaining affiliated with the religion some of the numbers are too high (Seljak et al., 2007 Seljak, D., Benham Rennick, J., Schmidt, A., Da Silva, K. and Bramadat, P. 2007. "Religion and Multiculturalism in Canada: the Challenge of Religious Intolerance and Discrimination, Final Report". Ottawa: Multiculturalism and Human Rights Program at the Department of Canadian Heritage. [Google Scholar]). 4 4 The Department of Defence uses the term 'Aboriginal' to include First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples, and that is how I have used it throughout this article. 5 5 These privileges remain significant aspects of the modern-day 'ministry of presence'. 6 6 Morton (1990 Morton, D. 1990. A Military History of Canada, Edmonton: Hurtig. [Google Scholar]) explains that Canadian peacekeepers had been 'beaten and threatened' in the Congo, that they remained in Cyprus only because they had become a part of that country's economy, that they were expelled from Egypt, and that they returned from 'hopeless circumstances' in Vietnam after only 120 days. 7 7 Unfortunately, the CF does not compile statistics on the religious affiliation of its members, so these data are lacking. However, statistics show that 79 per cent of enlisted personnel come from the regions of Canada that have predominantly Christian populations (see SC, 2007 SC. 2007. "'Military personnel and pay'". In Statistics Canada Ottawa http://www40.statcan.ca/l01/cst01/govt16a.htm (last accessed 31 October 2010) [Google Scholar]). Thirty-five per cent of enlisted personnel come from Ontario, 21 per cent from Québec, 12 per cent from Nova Scotia, 11 per cent from Alberta, 8 per cent from British Columbia and 7 per cent the remaining provinces combined (the final 6 per cent come from outside Canada). In Ontario, 66 per cent of the population is either Roman Catholic or Protestant (33 per cent each), while in Québec, 83 per cent of the population identifies as Roman Catholic. In Nova Scotia, 86 per cent of the population belongs to Christian denominations (49 per cent Protestant and 37 per cent Roman Catholic), and in Alberta, 65 per cent are Christian (39 per cent Protestant and 26 per cent Roman Catholic). For further statistics on military personnel by province, see SC (2007 SC. 2007. "'Military personnel and pay'". In Statistics Canada Ottawa http://www40.statcan.ca/l01/cst01/govt16a.htm (last accessed 31 October 2010) [Google Scholar]). 8 8 There are three Jewish rabbis in the reserve forces but none in the regular forces. Note that the data on chaplains is in regular flux as a result of ongoing recruitment and attrition: these numbers are approximates given to me by the Canadian Forces' Chaplain Branch in 2010. 9 9 A ramp ceremony is the formal event during which a flag-draped container bearing the body of a soldier who has been killed in operations is loaded on a transport plane to be flown home for funeral services. 10 10 Policies do not necessarily ensure practice, of course, and personnel from religious minorities that I interviewed gave a number of examples of neglect of and open defiance to military policies on religious accommodation. Chaplains also provided examples of having to intercede to sustain the rights of a CF member to get appropriate meals or time off for prayers. For examples, see Benham Rennick (2009b, pp. 40–43). 11 11 For more about the discussion surrounding the change of motto and hymn, see Benham Rennick (2010). 12 12 For further discussion about how individual chaplains meet, or fail to meet, the demands of such a model, see Benham Rennick (2010). 13 13 A relevant related issue is the question of members' values and conflicts of conscience about military operations. I address this topic briefly in Benham Rennick (2005a) and I examine it more directly in Benham Rennick (2009a) and Benham Rennick (2011a, forthcoming). 14 14 Statistics Canada surveys show that in civilian society depression occurs in approximately one in four people over a one-year period. According to the Canadian Forces 2002 supplement of the Statistics Canada community health survey, mental health issues include: depression, alcoholism, social phobias, post-traumatic stress disorder, panic disorders and generalised anxiety disorders. Since this survey was conducted in 2002, the CF has made strenuous efforts to combat mental health issues. One result is that there is greater awareness that these problems exist and there are more resources for care; and in the case of alcoholism at least CF personnel now rank lower than the national average (DND, 2002). 15 15 Overall statistics on Canadian suicides are based on successful suicide and put the rate at 15 per 100,000. The Canadian Mental Health Association states that 'Men commit suicide at a rate four times higher than that of women. … Women, however, make 3 to 4 times more suicide attempts than men do, and women are hospitalized in general hospitals for attempted suicide at 1.5 times the rate of men' (CMHA, 2006). 16 16 For more on this topic, see Seljak (2001 Seljak, D. 2001. "'Catholicism's "Quiet Revolution": Maintenant and the new public Catholicism in Quebec after 1960'". In Religion and Public Life in Canada: Historical and Comparative Perspectives, Edited by: Van Die, M. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. [Google Scholar]). 17 17 When imbalances develop between these two, abuse, neglect and betrayal can occur. See for example Bercuson (1996 Bercuson, D. 1996. Significant Incident: Canada's Army, the Airborne, and the Murder in Somalia, Toronto: McLelland and Stewart. [Google Scholar]), Razack (2004 Razack, S. H. 2004. Dark Threats and White Nights: the Somalia Affair, Peacekeeping, and the New Imperialism, Toronto: University of Toronto Press. [Google Scholar]) and Winslow (1997 Winslow, D. 1997. The Canadian Airborne Regiment in Somalia: a Socio-Cultural Inquiry, Ottawa: Minster of Public Works and Government Services Canada. [Google Scholar]). 18 18 For a more thorough discussion of these topics see Benham Rennick (2011b, forthcoming).

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