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Civil War Chaplain

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Roman Catholic Chaplain ministering to Union soldiers during the American Civil War.

A military chaplain is a chaplain who ministers to soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines and other members of the military. In many countries, chaplains also minister to the family members of military personnel, to civilian noncombatants working for military organizations and to civilians within the military organization's area of operations.

Although the term chaplain originally had Christian roots, it is generally used today in military organizations to describe all professionals specially trained to serve any spiritual need, regardless of religious affiliation. Often, in addition to offering pastoral care to individuals, and supporting their religious rights and needs, military chaplains also advise senior officers on issues of religion, ethics, troop morale and morals, while also increasingly functioning as liaisons to local religious leaders in an effort to understand the role of religion as both a factor in hostility and war and as a force for reconciliation and peace.

Some military's chaplains only work with men and women of their faith group but in many cases chaplains work with military personnel of all faiths, as well as those who claim no faith or religious affiliation. While most military chaplains represent a religion or faith group, some countries, like the Netherlands, also employ humanist chaplains who offer a non-religious approach to chaplain support. Some groups such as the Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers, support the idea of such secular chaplains in the military, and also work to make all chaplains more sensitive to the needs and rights of those who profess no belief in a god.

Photograph Hand Color Tinted by artist Margaret A. Rogers.

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