Memorial Services, Church Parades and Tolerance
Technically, the British Army does not have compulsory Church Parades. They were abolished1. I have to point this out at the beginning of this page, because it is a surprise to many soldiers within the British Army. This page is about the reality of compulsory and pseudo-compulsory Church Parades, and about communal Christian events in the British Army. We also discuss the frequently-repeated notion that atheists should have to do work duties over Christmas and Easter holidays 'because they don't believe'. We conclude that Memorial Services should be secular, enforced Christianity should be abolished, and religious beliefs should be respected in accordance with existing Army literature such as the British Army Values and Standards booklet.
Contents:
- Beliefs Are Important and Personal
- Memorial Events Should be Secular and Inclusive
- Christmas, Easter, and other Religious Events
- The Army Ethos and the Padre's Mission
- Conclusion
1. Beliefs Are Important and Personal
Beliefs can be very personal, especially when it comes to metaphysical ideas such as the existence of god, and the type of God that one thinks exists. As such, forcing people to worship one particular type of God over others has always been a dominant feature of the majority of totalitarian, immoral, oppressive regimes. For example: Communist totalitarianism enforced strict atheism. The Christian Roman Empire enforced a strict Pauline Christianity on its empire, leading to massacres of the gnostics and other religious groups: Previously, the Roman Empire was tolerant of a host of religious beliefs. The Dark Ages was a period of violent, murderous abuse by Christians who did not accept any belief but what they thought was orthodox, witness the wholesale slaughter of the Cathars, Bogomils, etc, which were all wiped out completely. Multiple Islamist states enforce strict Islamic worship. Such regimes are what we, the military and political forces of the Western world, fight against. The British Army should be setting a good example in the world and distancing itself from any forms of coerced participation in any religion.
That we continue to have Church Parades - that there is (lots of) pressure to attend and sometimes punishments if you don't - is a hallmark of a historical era of oppression between Protestants and Catholics that is long forgotten by mainstream British society. The soldiers 'on the ground' are often not in a position to protest. The end of church parades should come from the top, and be properly enforced.
It is easy to see how Christian ideas of original sin - that women bleed because of Eve's misdemeanours, and men 'work the soil' for the same reason, is insulting to many who do not share similar beliefs. To have Christian beliefs assumed for the duration of, even, hymns, can be disturbing and offensive to those who take their own religious, or secular, beliefs seriously.
2. Memorial Events Should be Secular and Inclusive
It is right, healing, educational and value-enforcing to remember those who have died in wars. Such memorial services are held a few times a year (typically) by any particular unit, and major ones are synchronized across the UK and orchestrated by the Government.
Memorial services should remind us of the horrors of the past and therefore hint at the potential horrors of today that soldiers may face in the line of duty. They should also serve as solemn appraisals of the valience of fallen soldiers and quiet condemnation of the futility of war. It is right that such proceedings are led by a Padre, whose job it is to preside over such events.
Importantly, memorial events should be inclusive so that all can remember, in peace, those of the past. In the British Army days such as Remembrance Sunday are taken very seriously and it is compulsory to attend. This compulsory nature, and the universalism of tragedy, both imply that the mourning be conducted in a way that does not exclude any particular people.
There is no need to add religious teachings, worship or religion-specific commentary to these days. If, for examples, Hindus in the Army want to hold their own Remembrance Sunday to include their own religious methods of reflection, then they can, but religion-specific preaching should be absent from the compulsory & universal central event.
However, this is not the case. In the British Army memorial events are heavily Christian. The Padre does not lead a universal and inclusive ceremony. He invariably leads a Christian service, with the mentions of fallen comrades taking second-place to the promotion of Christian religion. For example, in the 2005 Remembrance Sunday service in Javelin Barracks, all ten pages of the ceremony timetable include references to God and Jesus. There are far fewer mentions of the victims of war, than there are Christian comments on God and Jesus. Maj. Cummings says that although compulsory Church parades are officially abolished, in practice this is not often the case. To quote more fully:
“The British Army ended compulsory attendance at worship shortly after the new Second World War, though even today this policy is occasionally honoured as much in the breach as in the observance. Chaplain-led prayer at parades and military funerals, notably Remembrance, often reflects a degree of sectarian Christianity, rather than an ecumenical or pluralist inclusion of those of 'all beliefs and none' in a societal rite.
Efforts to build comprehensive models of collective spiritual activity remain patchy, and invariably exclude those who do not subscribe to mainstream religious sentiment. That this marginalisation of participation might cause offence and foster a sense of anti-institutional grievance is recognised only in those areas where the full implications of diversity are understood.”
British Army Review (2007)1
It is not only the quantity of Christian-specific elements in many of these events, it is also the tone which is a problem. The tone implies that only Christians are worthy to be present. The Chaplain, Rev. Brian Millson's first three paragraphs all state that proceedings go on 'before God'. "We meet today, to remember before God all who have died" and "We bring before God in penitence the hatreds of our world" are two examples. There is no hint that non-Christians might also want to express penitence for mankind's ills; and for those that aren't religious at all, it's almost stating that they have no right in being there! The service on page 7 even instructs the assembly to pray for those who have no faith in Jesus Christ. How offensive and inappropriate, on a day of mourning, to be shoving religion down people's throats! The references to "praying", to religious beliefs, overwhelm the other emotions of the service. This is wrong; the service should be victim-orientated, not god-orientated, and certainly should not be an opportunity for a Christian to preach his beliefs to others.
I deeply believe that if there is a God, it is an evil God. I cannot and will not bring anything "before God in penitence", because to do in my beliefs, is an immoral act of treachery to life on Earth. I do wish to remember the dead of history, but, if there is a God, then God created the world ravaged with natural disasters, death and disease, and I refuse to pray to such an evil god for the ending of suffering. It makes no sense to me, and it is offensive to me. Now, how matter how illogical my beliefs may be, they are no less logical than Christian beliefs. There should be no beliefs of either kind in a memorial service, where the purpose is to remember and mourn the dead! If people consider themselves to be remembering the dead before God, then they can feel free to do so but it is wrong to enforce religious beliefs on the many who aren't interested in prosyltisation.
3. Christmas, Easter, and other Religious Events
The Reason of the Season:
Christmas and Easter are both originally pagan festivals, the former based around the Winter Solstice when the days begin to get longer (Sun worship), and Easter which is an ancient pagan fertility festival. Both were celebrated throughout the Roman Empire before Christianity existed; the only difference since Pauline Christianity was established is that now many people are indoctrinated with the idea that these rituals are actually Christian in nature. Ask yourselves: What do bunny rabbits, chocolate, eggs and the like have to do with a Christian resurrection? Were there fir trees in Jerusalem? No. Christmas and Easter are pagan, not Christian, in nature.
The early Church fathers for the first few hundred years of Christianity did not celebrate the winter solstice - or Christmas - nor Easter, and strict Bible-based evangelicals also campaign strongly against Christian celebration of Christmas and Easter because of it's pagan nature. Christians should volunteer themselves for Guard Duties over Christmas.
“Sometimes non-Christians complain that Christmas is too Christian, and sometimes hardline Christians complain that Christmas is too pagan. Agents of the Politically Correct complain it is too culturally or religiously homogenous. In reality, Christmas is already a multicultural, multi-religious festival. It combines sun worship, polytheism, pagan nature religions, Christianity, and other later myths and traditions. The date of the 25th accords with Sun Worship thousands of years old, the Christmas tree and some of the decorations are pagan, the Nativity stories are pagan, Mithraistic, Roman and Christian. In addition to all of its rich history, Christmas has now become largely a secular holiday and a commercial enterprise with many tacky, mass-produced, plastic and branded items such as Santa Claus's red uniform, designed by Coca Cola. The non-religious can celebrate the commercial and social event, Christians can pretend Christmas has something to do with Christ, pagans can celebrate nature, and all can be happy.”
"Christmas is Pagan, not Christian" by Vexen Crabtree, 2005
Now the shoe is on the other foot, I would like point out where the sensible land lays, inbetween the land of 'non-Christians should work over Christmas' as some in the Army say, and the land of 'but actually Christmas is pagan, so Christians should work it", as I have pointed out. Neither stance is sensible.
Public Holidays
Christmas and Easter are public holidays. This means, in common law, that employers (including the Army) cannot make their workforce work on these days unless there are exceptional circumstances and in addition, prejudice based on religion is also illegal, as tested in courts of law. This means that you cannot force people of a certain religion to work public holidays.
Also, many soldiers are parents. It doesn't matter what religion they are, school holidays occur over Christmas and Easter. It is immoral to force people away from their families during these times, on account of their religious beliefs. Our society has institutionalized these events as public holidays no matter what religious belief people have. They are secular holidays.
4. The Army Ethos and the Padre's Mission
Padres know that religious beliefs can be important parts of person's identity. A chaplain serves, as part of his job in the British Army, as both a religious acolyte and also as a Welfare officer. Padres are frequently the ones who give the lectures on equality and fairness to soldiers and officers. Every soldier has to have one such brief every year. The Padre is stated as one of the principal people to whom you turn when you suffer discrimination. Padres know, above all, what discrimination is.
Also mapping out the moral ground are various British Army publications, such as the "Equality & Diversity in the British Army" booklet that is issued to all Army recruits. On page 4 it states that "Direct Discrimination [...] occurs when a person is singled out for less favourable treatment because of such things as gender, race, sexual orientation, or religious belief." It also states that "Prejudice is based on preconceived opinions that are often irrational [and] results in the unfair treatment of a person or group" and that Harassment can involve "the misuse of authority". The Equality and Diversity handbook also explains correctly that sometimes, those who are acting in prejudice or discriminatory way "may not realise that they are causing you offence" [Equality & Diversity, p5].
Looking at the issues raised on this page, we can see that coercive religion, such as Remembrance Sunday being more of a Christian service than a sombre memorial, and bias against atheists regarding holiday leave at Easter and Christmas, and compulsory Church parades, are all cases that involve direct discrimination, harassment and prejudice. These are the exact things that a padre should be fighting against, and not participating in!
To back up the Padre in hir struggle against religious coercion, is the fact that the "Equality & Diversity in the British Army" booklet contains on nearly every page the statement that all people in the Army have a responsibility "to ensure that all individuals are treated fairly" and specifically states in its description of direct discrimination that this must take religious beliefs into account. On page 2 it says that "you also have a responsibility to act if you see another soldier being treated unfairly", and backs up the padre and others' in the fight against religious discrimination when it says that "Equality and Diversity" does not mean "giving unfair advantages to people with certain characteristics, or minority groups", i.e., you can't let Christians sit in a Church Parade and force atheists to stand outside in the rain: Either everyone has a parade suitable to their beliefs, or, there should be no such compulsory parades. Religious people are free to attend church in their own free time.
If religious prejudice isn't the Padre's perfect chance to battle discrimination, he is not doing his own job or upholding British Army values and standards.
5. Conclusions
- Religious beliefs are an important part of many peoples' lives. So are some secular beliefs. It can be intensely insulting and offensive to have religious beliefs imposed upon you. Memorial services such as Remembrance Sunday should proceed in a secular and universal manner, centering on the victims of history who we are remembering. There is no reason to impose religious beliefs upon people during these events, and in the multi-faith Army, this should never occur. But it does in a consistent and insensitive manner.
- Public holidays such as Easter and Christmas should be available to all and there should be no pressure for atheists to perform duties over these periods. Christian parents should not have priority over atheist parents when it comes to seeing their children during school breaks such as Easter. As both these festivals are pagan in nature and origin, it makes no sense to say that Christians should be given priority. The Army Values and Standards, Equality and Diversity ethos, and UK culture all recognize the immorality of lack of respect for religious beliefs. For all these reasons, the Army should not discriminate on account of religion. All commanders and staff should ensure that no pressure exists for people to attend religious services, and that duties over Christmas and Easter are distributed fairly, not based on religious prejudice.
- British soldiers frequently fight against governments that enforce religious principles on its population: It is ironically sad and wrong that soldiers who die defending the rights of individuals against religious theocracy are remembered in a parade where participants are forced to attend services that are contain religious preaching.
- The Army Values and Standards enshrines respect for fellow's beliefs, and UK law dissuades discrimination on grounds of religion. Those that coerce people to attend religious ceremonies in the Army are therefore breaking two moral codes.
- It is the Padres role to fight discrimination, and yet many padres preside over compulsory ceremonies that are religious in nature; they therefore are breaking their own welfare mission.