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Religious Liberty in the Military: The First Amendment Under “Friendly Fire”

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 April 2015

Kenneth Lasson
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Extract

Though freedom of religion remains one of our most cherished values, it is still among the most controversial of constitutional rights. This is especially true in the context of military service. Even those who purposefully enlist in the armed forces, implicitly giving up certain liberties they freely enjoyed as civilians, would not relinquish their freedom of conscience. Yet the right to practice their religious beliefs, unfettered by arbitrary governmental restrictions, is regularly challenged.

Fortunately, however, most western cultures regard religious liberty as so fundamental that their military establishments routinely develop regulations to accommodate specific religious practices.

This principle was of particular import in the recent conflict in the Persian Gulf, during which the American government sought to limit the conduct of its military personnel so as not to offend the religious sensibilities of fundamentalist Arabs, specifically the host nation of Saudi Arabia. To what extent such political and strategic restrictions impinge upon basic constitutional principles is a question that has not yet been fully explored.

Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Law and Religion , Volume 9 , Issue 2 , 1992 , pp. 471 - 499
Copyright
Copyright © Center for the Study of Law and Religion at Emory University 1992

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References

1. Letter from Senator Patrick Moynihan to Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney, dated August 22, 1990, in author's files.

2. Associated Press wire story, October 28, 1990.

3. Id.

4. Id.

5. The total number of American military chaplains in the Persian Gulf was 835, of whom eighteen were women and seven were Jewish.

Interestingly enough, there were about 700 Muslim U.S. troops but no Muslim chaplains. One problem that arose on several occasions was how to perform marriages on American bases, because non-Muslim marriages are prohibited on Saudi soil. Another problem was how to handle Muslim prisoners of war. The official policies regarding religious practices were promulgated by way of various orders and directives (copies in author's files).

6. 137 CONG. REC. E2966-67 (daily ed. Aug. 15, 1991)(statement by Rep. Gilman).

7. Telephone interview with Jewish chaplain, 10/2/91 (author's files).

8. Telephone interview with senior chaplain in Persian Gulf, 10/2/91 (author's files).

9. Id. On the other hand, there were indications that the Saudis were “very concerned” as to how U.S. troops would conduct themselves during holidays. Id.

10. Cong. Rec, supra note 6.

11. (Data in author's files.).

12. Telephone interview with senior chaplain in Persian Gulf, 10/2/91 (author's files.)

13. Jewish personnel also celebrated Passover, but to do so were moved off of Saudi soil and onto the Cunard Princess. (Data in author's files.).

14. U.S. Const., Amend. I.

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38. Hope Evangelical Lutheran Church v. Iowa Department of Revenue and Finance, 463 N.W.2d 76 (Iowa 1990).

39. Elsaesser v. City of Hamilton Board of Zoning Appeals, 573 N.E.2d 733 (1990).

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43. 475 N.W.2d 88 (Minn.App. 1991).

44. 2 Cal. Rptr.2d 32 (Ct. App. 2d Dist. 1991).

45. Id. at 46.

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67. Act of March 3, 1863, ch. 75, § 2, 12 Stat. 731 (1863).

68. Act of February 24, 1864, ch. 13, § 17, 13 Stat. 6, 9 (1864).

69. Act of May 18, 1917, ch. 15, § 4, 40 Stat. 76 (1917).

70. Id. at § 4, 40 Stat, at 78.

71. 245 U.S. 366, 389-90 (1918).

72. See Folk, supra note 27, at 58.

73. Act of September 16, 1940, ch. 720, § 5, 54 Stat. 885, 889 (1940).

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75. 401 U.S. 437 (1971).

76. Id. at 460.

77. 415 U.S. 361 (1974).

78. 374 U.S. 398 (1963). See supra notes 27-29 and accompanying text.

79. Department of Defense Directive Number 1300.17, at § C (February 3, 1988).

80. Id.

81. Id.

82. Id.

83. 475 U.S. 503 (1986).

84. 423 F. Supp. 16 (D.D.C. 1976).

85. Id. at 18.

86. Id.

87. 619 F.2d 47 (9th Cir. 1980).

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97. Id. at 525-26 (Blackmun, J., dissenting).

98. Id. at 515 (Brennan, J., dissenting).

99. Id. at 530 (O'Connor, J., dissenting).

100. Id. at 531.

101. Joint Service Study on Religious Matters, March 1985.

102. Id. at § III, B(1), 4.

103. Id. at § III, C, 18-19.

104. Department of Defense Directive No. 1300.17, Accommodation of Religious Practices Within the Military Services (1985)Google Scholar, canceled by Department of Defense Directive No. 1300.17, Accommodation of Religious Practices Within the Military Services (1988)Google Scholar. See also, Sullivan, , The Congressional Response to Goldman v. Weinberger, 121 Mil. L. Rev. 125 (1988)Google Scholar.

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114. Id.

115. Dept. of Army, Reg. No. 600-20, Personnel-General-Army Command Policy & Procedures (Aug. 26, 1985).

116. Kg.: fasting on Good Friday (Christian), Yom Kippur (Jewish), or Ramadan (Moslem); others include vegetarians.

117. Joint Service Study, supra note 101, at § IV, B(1), 5.

118. Id. at 5-6 (for example, additional messsing facilities might be needed, food service personnel would require additional training in food preparation and handling, increased time in preparation, in some cases, (i.e. preparation of kosher food) participation of rabbis or other non-military religious leaders.).

119. See, e.g., Pell v. Procuneer, 417 U.S. 817, 822 (1974)Google Scholar (stating that prisoner's retention of first amendment rights is not inconsistent with his status or objectives of correction system); see also Note, Goldman v. Secretary of Defense, Restricting the Religious Rights of Military Servicemembers, 34 Am. U. L. Rev. 881, 891 (1985)Google Scholar.

120. 405 U.S. 319 (1972).

121. Id. at 322 (stating that first and fourth amendments guarantee prisoner's right to exercise their religion freely without fear of penalty.)

122. 527 F.2d 492 (2nd Cir. 1975).

123. Id. at 495-96.

124. 394 F.Supp. 752 (S.D.N.Y. 1975).

125. 907 F.2d 46 (7th Cir. 1990). See also Friend v. Kolodzieczak, 923 F.2d 126 (9th Cir. 1991)(prisoners denied possession of rosaries and scapulars in their cells). Cf. Salaam v. Lock-hart, 905 F.2d 1168 (8th Cir. 1990)(“Smith does not alter the rights of prisoners; it simply brings the free exercise rights of private citizens closer to those of prisoners.”).

126. Joint Service Study, supra note 101, § IV, C, 8.

127. Id.

128. Id.

129. Id. Note, however, that most religions allow dispensations in cases of extreme hardship, and some (e.g., Judaism) require violation of the dietary laws in order to save life or limb.

130. Foreman, , Religion, Conscience and Military Discipline, 52 Mil. L. Rev. 77, 84 (1971)Google Scholar.

131. Zucht v. King, 260 U.S. 174 (1922)Google Scholar; Jacobsen v. Massachusetts, 197 U.S. 11 (1905)Google Scholar.

132. Army Reg. No. 600-20, ch. 5 (Oct. 15, 1980).

133. Id.

134. Joint Service Study, supra note 101, § V, A(2), 5.

135. Id.

136. Katcoffv. Marsh, 755 F.2d 223, 225 (1985).

137. 1 Thompson, P., The United States Army Chaplaincy xix (1978)Google Scholar.

138. Act of March 2, 1791, ch. XXVIII, § 5, 1 Stat. 222 (1791).

139. 10 U.S.C. § 3702.

140. 10 U.S.C. § 3703.

141. Katcoff, 755 F.2d at 226.

142. Id. at 228.

143. U.S. Const, amend. 1.

144. Joint Service Study, supra note 101, § III, C, 19.

145. 132 Cong. Rec. S10698 (daily ed. Aug. 7, 1986)(statement of Sen. Lautenberg).

146. Id.

147. Joint Service Study, supra note 101, § III, C, 20.

148. Id.

149. Id.

150. Parker, 417 U.S. at 751.

151. 41 Halsbury's Laws of England Para 3 (4th ed. 1983).

152. Bailey, S.H., Harrid, D.J. & Jones, B.L., Civil Liberties, Cases and Materials 2 (1980)Google Scholar.

153. Id. at 341.

154. Id.

155. Liberty of Religious Worship Act, 1855, 18 & 19 Vict. ch. 86 (Eng.).

156. Yardley, D.C.M., Introduction to British Constitutional Law 101 (1974)Google Scholar.

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159. Id. at 383.

160. Id.

161. Armed Forces Act 1981, Eliz. II, part II, ch. 55 (Eng.). No order in council may be made under the Act to continue such Acts beyond the Ave year period.

162. E.S.C. Wade, supra note 158, at 389.

163. Id.

164. Id. at 390.

165. 41 Halsbury's Laws of England, supra note 151, at para. 4.

166. Queen's Regulations for the Royal Navy 1967, ch. 11, § 1. art. 1101.

167. Uniforms Act, 1894, 57 & 58 Vict. ch. 45, § 2 (Eng.).

168. Id.

169. Queen's Regulations for the Royal Navy, ch. 11, § 1, art. 1105.

170. Queen's Regulations for the Royal Navy, ch. 11, § 1, art. 1107.

171. 38 Halsbury's Statutes of England, Road Traffic Act 1988, para. 16.

175. Id. at J5.263.

176. Id. at J5.264.

177. Id. at J5.268.

178. Id. at J5.264.

179. Queen's Regulations for the Army (1975).

180. 14 Halsbury's Laws of England para. 727 (4th ed. 1974).

181. Queen's Regulations for the Royal Navy at 44.

182. Queen's Regulations for the Army J5.274 (1975).

183. Queen's Regulations for the Air Force J837 (1985).

184. 14 Halsbury's Laws of England, supra note 180, at para. 729.