"Let us all beseech the blessing of Almighty God upon this great and noble undertaking."

D-Day, the Army Chaplain Corps, and religious pluralism in America

This week marks the 80th anniversary of the D-Day invasion. In his Order of the Day for June 6, 1944, General Eisenhower concluded by saying, “And let us all beseech the blessing of Almighty God upon this great and noble undertaking.” While his remarks spoke to an Allied force consisting of personnel from over a dozen nations, there is something uniquely American about asking such a diverse unit to pray. It speaks to the deep connection between religion and the Army, and in turn, the connection between the Army and the vitality of religious pluralism in the nation. Among the many sacred elements of D-Day history, this is our theme for the week.

The Army Chaplain Corps traces back to July 1775, just weeks after the Army itself was first born, when the Continental Congress authorized a Chaplain for each regiment of the Army. At a time when there was intense conflict between Catholics and Protestants, George Washington played a pivotal role in anchoring the Army in religious pluralism. He denounced anti-Catholic actions among troops stationed in Boston, and in 1777, when the Continental Congress attempted to shift to one Chaplain per Brigade, Washington pushed back, noting that this would compel Soldiers to worship under a faith other than their own.

(Soldiers celebrate the 248th birthday of the Chaplain Corps in 2023. Source: dvids.)

War repeatedly expanded the ranks of the Army’s Chaplain Corps to include new faiths and denominations. This in turn contributed to a strengthening of religious pluralism among the American population more generally. During the Mexican War, for example, Roman Catholic priests joined the Chaplain Corps. World War I saw the Chaplain Corps expand to include Jews, Mormons, and Christian Scientists. Abdul-Rasheed Muhammad became the first Muslim Army Chaplain in 1994. By 2017, the Department of Defense recognized 221 faith and belief categories.

(Army Chief of Chaplains provides remarks at Chaplains Hill, Arlington Cemetery, 2019. Source: dvids.)

These shifts often both catalyzed and reflected evolving narratives of American identity and citizenship. Scholars point to World War I, for example, as a pivotal moment in the history of Judaism in America. Over 200,000 American Jews served in the American Expeditionary Force and Jewish organizations, such as the Jewish Welfare Board, played prominent roles in driving public support for the war. These developments helped drive a narrative of a “tri-faith America”, a pluralistic conception which welcomed Jews, Protestants, and Catholics as all equally a part of the American story.

(Army Chaplain conducting service in 2021. Source: dvids.)

This is not to suggest these developments played out smoothly every time. The Army has frequently been the setting where American jurisprudence on religious freedom is contested and defined anew. In 1898, for example, it took an act of Congress to build a Catholic church at West Point, even though the Academy’s leadership wanted it built. Although the McKinley administration had granted a license to build to the New York Archbishop in 1897, it received so much backlash that it rescinded the license and the issue had to be taken up by Congress.

In the 1985 case, Katcoff v. Marsh, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Army’s chaplain corps did not violate the establishment clause of the first amendment to the Constitution, which includes the following: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…”. The court found that soldiers have a right to exercise religion and that the Army’s chaplain corps was a valid means to ensure the Army did not unduly infringe on this right. Similar such legal questions are raised today as well.

The boundaries and meaning of religious freedom in America will continue to evolve and be contested, and the Army will almost certainly continue to be a central player in these debates. Yet the Army will also continue to anchor all Americans in a shared sense of belonging. We need only travel to Arlington or to the World War II cemeteries at Normandy, Manilla, or Tunisia, among others, to visit with Americans of many diverse faiths and beliefs, resting alongside one another under one flag.

(Normandy Cemetery 2015. Source: dvids.)

Additional Resources:

D-Day 80th Anniversary Memorialization: National World War II Museum

Army Chaplain Corps: Chaplains

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