Chaplain ends hunger strike
He claims victory, but Navy says nothing has changed
By Kelly Kennedy
Times staff writer
When Navy Chaplain (Lt.) Gordon Klingenschmitt broke on Jan. 7 a 19-day hunger strike he started in protest against the Navy, it was just the most recent salvo in a long line of protests he’s launched against the service, complaining about what he is allowed and not allowed to do.
Klingenschmitt, an evangelical Episcopal priest, began his water-only diet Dec. 20 because he said the Navy precluded him from praying in Jesus’ name while in uniform, saying he would end his hunger strike when the “president gave me my uniform and let me pray in Jesus’ name.”
“Today is that day,” he announced at a press conference in front of the White House, before breaking his fast with a communion wafer. “I have been granted the religious liberty today to pray in uniform.”
But Navy officials said nothing had changed since the beginning of Klingenschmitt’s fast.
“No one ever, ever told him he couldn’t pray in uniform,” Navy spokesman Lt. William Marks said. The regulation states military chaplains may pray in public in uniform, but they can’t lobby for a cause in uniform.
At issue, originally, was what Klingenschmitt said was his right to lead evangelical Episcopalian prayers, rather than nonsectarian prayers, on the guided missile cruiser Anzio as ship chaplain when speaking to soldiers of all faiths. Klingenschmitt said he was punished after being asked to lead “Jewish prayers,” which he ended with “in Jesus’ name.”
Klingenschmitt, who has been in the military for 14 years, said he has received a letter of instruction, a downgraded fitness report and a negative letter of recommendation telling a Navy board to end his career.
“Many sailors felt Chaplain Klingenschmitt overemphasized his own faith system and provided poor pastorship to sailors of other faith groups,” wrote his commander, Capt. J.M. Carr, in a letter Klingenschmitt provided.
Carr’s letter does not say Klingenschmitt should not be extended, but it says Carr would not request to serve with Klingenschmitt again.
Marks said Klingenschmitt has every right to pray in his own faith, but since 1998, chaplains have been asked to make their prayers inclusive.
“In public events, which are not divine services, chaplains of all faiths are asked to pray in a manner that does not exclude others,” Marks said. “The key difference is that these events or ceremonies are command-sponsored or command-hosted and are not of a religious nature, but may include religious elements such as invocations or benedictions.”
The chaplain’s complaint of religious discrimination has become a showdown between Navy officials, who said there was never a problem, and Klingenschmitt, who said the Navy has capitulated because of his protest.
In the Jan. 7 service, Klingenschmitt told a group of about 20 people in front of the White House that he thanked the lord the Navy was allowing him to pray in Jesus’ name in uniform, and that he had received a letter allowing him to do so in uniform.
Klingenschmitt requested the letter after, he said, he was told he could not appear in uniform on news programs to promote his belief that the Navy is imposing on his right to say evangelical prayers in services meant for sailors of all faiths.
“The order did not direct that you ‘may not wear [your] uniform in public if [you] talk about religion or if TV cameras may be present,’” Capt. William Crow of Naval Station Norfolk wrote in a letter dated Jan. 6, citing a letter from Klingenschmitt. “‘Media appearances’ … meant interviews, press conferences, press availabilities, and similar events … where you deliberately engage with the press to express your personal views.”
Klingenschmitt said the 11 a.m. gathering Jan. 7, for which he sent out press releases, did not constitute a “press conference.” In the press release, he called it a “bona fide public worship service.”
He admitted that one of his evangelical sermons received complaints from 25 percent of those who heard it because he said those who do not accept Jesus will be “cast into hell.”
Klingenschmitt said it was not a mandatory service, so he should be allowed to pray in his own faith.
Documents Klingenschmitt provided show that 25 percent of Anzio sailors polled complained about him, saying he “pushes his own brand of religion” and was “more worried about saving souls than counseling problems.”
No disciplinary action has been taken against Klingenschmitt, Marks said, and he returned Jan. 9 to Norfolk Naval Base, where he is free to counsel sailors but isn’t delivering sermons.
“We want to investigate all of his complaints,” Marks said. “We want to make sure everything was handled correctly.”