{"id":596,"date":"2014-06-17T11:36:00","date_gmt":"2014-06-17T11:36:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/2014\/06\/navy-chaplains-obstruct-religious-liberty.html"},"modified":"2014-06-17T11:36:00","modified_gmt":"2014-06-17T11:36:00","slug":"navy-chaplains-obstruct-religious-liberty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/2014\/06\/navy-chaplains-obstruct-religious-liberty.html","title":{"rendered":"Navy Chaplains Obstruct Religious Liberty"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>
The United States Constitution in Article VI, paragraph 3, states in part: \u201cNo religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n
Just last month, the Navy Chief of Chaplains\u00a0rejected the application\u00a0<\/a>of Jason Heap, a highly qualified chaplain candidate who would have been the\u00a0first Humanist<\/a>\u00a0military chaplain. All the evidence leads invariably to the conclusion this decision was based upon a Constitutionally prohibited \u201creligious test.\u201d If true, this action by the Navy would be a violation of the oath taken by the Navy Chief of Chaplains and his staff to support and defend the Constitution of the United States. More significantly, it would be a denial of the religious liberty of Mr. Heap and all other service members and their families who do not share their belief in God.\u00a0<\/span>

<\/span>When asked why Jason Heap\u2019s application was rejected, the\u00a0Navy spokesperson<\/a>\u00a0claimed to be unable to provide any reason, in order to protect Heap\u2019s \u201cprivacy.\u201d The rejection letter Mr. Heap received from the Navy dated May 27, 2014, provided no details but merely stated, \u201cyou were not selected.\u201d\u00a0It went on, perhaps in an attempt to soften the blow and rationalize the decision, with a further explanation:\u00a0<\/span><\/span>

<\/span><\/span>\n
Due to the limited number of vacancies, only those applicants who appear to be most highly qualified are selected for appointment. Non-selection cannot be attributed to one single factor\u2026\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n

Heap is a graduate of Brite Divinity School and the University of Oxford. He has a Master of Divinity, a further Master\u2019s in religious history, post-graduate certification in Religious Education, and recently completed a Doctorate. There can be no doubt he met all the chaplain candidate educational requirements. One Christian chaplain endorser who interviewed him has described Heap as \u201cclearly qualified and highly polished.\u201d This endorser went on to say, \u201cMy group has over 100 military chaplains and Heap is as good as 99 of them.\u201d<\/span><\/span>

<\/span><\/span>Read the rest here<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The United States Constitution in Article VI, paragraph 3, states in part: \u201cNo religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.\u201d Just last month, the Navy Chief of Chaplains\u00a0rejected the application\u00a0of Jason Heap, a highly qualified chaplain candidate who would have been the\u00a0first Humanist\u00a0military […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-596","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nNavy Chaplains Obstruct Religious Liberty<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The United States Constitution in Article VI, paragraph 3, states in part: "No religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or\" \/>\n<meta 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