A cross to bear

[dutchie]

Sikh members do wear turbans (a member of the local BCRs is a sikh), don't know about the daggers...

I don't see this as one of those ridiculous pc movement initiatives, just common sense and progress. Our society is am immigrant one, and as such, we have a very diverse religious mosaic in the CF. That was not always the case. Conversly, if we went the other way in the future, and through natural means we no longer had any siginificant numbers of non-Christian troops and Chaplains, slapping the Maltese Cross on their headress would be ok. The cap badge should reflect ALL chaplains, not just Christian ones.

The issue of the Canadian National anthem amendment to remove 'God' was already put forth ny some NDP backbencher a few years ago....possiblt Svend 'Sticky Fingers' Robinson? Can't remember. It didn;t go anywhere, IIRC.


As far as the Canadian Forces dropping the 'Armed', don;t know ehen that happended either, prior to '97 for sure. I don't think it matters one bit though. I think we know we are armed.

Comparing the conflict of having a cross on a Muslim Imams headress to soem nut objecting to gratuitous usage of Poseidon is not really fair. Ditto for the other comarisons. The plain fact is that Chaplains are no longer just Christians, they are Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, etc, and as such, shouldn't be forcd to wear the religious symbol of another faith.

 

[Marauder]

It always kills me to see people arguing over the invisible guy in the sky. It smacks (comicaly or tragi-comicaly, depending on circumstances) of "My Dad could kick your Dad's ass, neener neener!!"

Of all the chaplains I have intereacted with, they have all seemed to be kind, compassionate officers who were only interested in my welfare and moral. I have never had a chaplain try to preach at me or convert me over the "right" side.
IMO, chaplains are more than just the guy to have droning at the pulpit every Sunday morning. I don't care if they are RC, Anglican, Presbyterian, Lutheran, Jewish, or Islamic. So long as they are supporting the soldier as best they can, what more do people want??

 

[Bograt]

Good rebuttal Caesar. It was well thought out and nicely articulated.

My disjointed rant perhaps illustrates some of my own blemishes. The change of the badge is not an issue for me. I have an issue with what I see is the absurdity of political correctness and the length some go to triumph it.

I do not want to hijack this topic with discussions of multiculturalism. The concept is a fantastic idea, however the reality as I see it is we are becoming a nation of clusters not cultures. As we chip away at tradition under the guise of accommodation we are beginning to loose my concept of Canada.

Cheers,

 

[Infanteer]

I really don't see this as an attempt at political correctness.

 

[winchable]

An attempt at political correctness would be getting rid of the Chaplaincy all together because the term Chaplain offends those who do not go to Chapel.
Or renaming the Chaplain's something like: "Spiritual Guidance Officers" so as not to offend.

If anything this is more or less saying "hey, there are people who are religious in the CF and not all of them are Christian, maybe we should acknowledge this by providing them with the same spiritual guidance that everyone else is given."

 

[Johnny Canuck]

From The Scotsman, 23 October 2004

Interestingly- from another forum on this site came the info below.. Now allowing THIS kinda thing   is really taking political correctness perhaps a little too far..(Dont wanna say anything too nasty..never know about these kinda guys    >) 'course he could be assinged to "special forces" harhar-- perhaps simply putting a curse on enemies like Osama etc.. would save a vast amount of time money and effort. har


Navy Technician Becomes Services' First Satanist
By Rachel Williams, PA News
A Royal Navy non-commissioned officer has become the first registered Satanist in the British Armed Forces, it emerged tonight.
Naval technician Chris Cranmer has been officially recognised as a Satanist by the captain of HMS Cumberland, meaning he will be allowed to perform Satanic rituals on board.
He is now reportedly lobbying the Ministry of Defence to make Satanism a registered religion in the Armed Forces, although an MoD spokesman said it was not aware of any approach about the issue.
Ldg Hand Cranmer, 24, is from Edinburgh and has been in the Navy for four years, according to the Sunday Telegraph.

He was promoted leading hand â “ the naval equivalent of corporal â “ in July last year.

He told the paper he realised he was a Satanist nine years ago when he â Å“stumbled acrossâ ? a copy of the Satanic Bible â “ written by Church of Satan founder Anton Szandor LaVey.

 

[NavyGrunt]

Im not known for my "accepting" attitudes. But I really think that IF we are going to have chaplains of different faiths then yes we should have a neutral cap badge and collar dogs. It seems like a stupid thing to get upset about.  I couldnt care less about other peoples religions- they have the right to practise and join the forces so they should have the right to speak to someone they are comfortable with. And I wouldnt be comfortable being told to wear a crescent moon so I give the same respect to them- EVEN if I dont agree with there beliefs.Hich I dont  ;D

 

[Pugnacious]

Hmmm I have to say I personally have Zero respect for any person who claims to be a Satanist, and seriously doubt that they would be interested in being  a Chaplin anyway, or that it would ever be allowed in the Canadian forces in the capacity as a Chaplain as the mentaly deranged doctrine of Satanism goes against everything one would want in such an important role that values compassion, empathy, and kindness. 

Also personally I think the person under the cap is more important then the shape of the badge they wear.
Being a Wiccan I'd be happy to partake in any religious service that helped my peers or myself (exept Satanism).

Cheers!
P.

 

[Infanteer]

So, no one liked my idea of the Book for a capbadge then.... :-\

 

[pbi]

I did. Cheers.

 

[bossi]

So, no one liked my idea of the Book for a capbadge then.... :-\

It's impossible to please everybody ... (as I realised immediately after I suggested "helping hands", which wouldn't go over well with some people).

As for a book, I can imagine the constitutional challenge/lawsuit by the Royal Corps Of Librarians, as well as those who follow scrolls instead of books ...

 

[Shec]

Who was it that wrote "he who forgets history is doomed to repeat it."?

In WW2 Jewish Chaplains were issued a Chaplain Corps cap badge with the a Star of David instead of a Maltese Cross  in the centre.  It worked.  So what's the big deal?  The model is there - the same can be done for other faiths.  Haven't the planners got more pressing priorities to worry about?