Lauren Markoe’s story, “Chaplains Push for Uniform Religious Badges, for Religion News Service considers the issue of visual identification of military chaplains. This matter is receiving considerable attention as the number of religions represented with one or more chaplains continues to expand, since each currently is represented by a unique symbol. This diversity makes it difficult for others to immediately identify chaplains. For example, when “the sole, newly commissioned Hindu chaplain starts wearing her symbol — which is still in the design stage — how many will recognize it as the sign of a chaplain?”
Currently, varying individuals and groups are working toward the creation of a single visual identifier for chaplains. Rabbi Arnold Resnicoff, a retired military chaplain who served as command chaplain for the U.S. European Command states, “We need a universal insignia that automatically symbolizes the presence of a chaplain.” Proposals for such include:
- One element shared by all chaplains alongside a separate symbol that indicates a chaplain’s particular faith
- An open book, with a shepherd’s crook on one of the pages, which was the original symbol of U.S. Army chaplains
- A uniform circle or shield containing a separate symbol that indicates a chaplain’s particular faith
Unlike military chaplains in other countries who often minister only to members of their own faith groups, American chaplains provide spiritual guidance to members of their own flock, those of other faiths and service members who profess no religion.