Navy Chaplains Obstruct Religious Liberty

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 public trust under the United States.”

Just last month, the Navy Chief of Chaplains rejected the application of Jason Heap, a highly qualified chaplain candidate who would have been the first Humanist military chaplain. All the evidence leads invariably to the conclusion this decision was based upon a Constitutionally prohibited “religious test.” 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.

When asked why Jason Heap’s application was rejected, the Navy spokesperson claimed to be unable to provide any reason, in order to protect Heap’s “privacy.” The rejection letter Mr. Heap received from the Navy dated May 27, 2014, provided no details but merely stated, “you were not selected.” It went on, perhaps in an attempt to soften the blow and rationalize the decision, with a further explanation:

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…

Heap is a graduate of Brite Divinity School and the University of Oxford. He has a Master of Divinity, a further Master’s 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 “clearly qualified and highly polished.” This endorser went on to say, “My group has over 100 military chaplains and Heap is as good as 99 of them.”

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