Brian Dijkema: Forcing religious neutrality on CAF chaplains robs troops of support

Padre Rory MacDonald (at the podium) speaks to the crowd and leads a prayer on Remembrance Day on Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025, in Cornwall, Ont. Photo by Shawna O'Neill/Cornwall Standard-Freeholder/Postmedia Network

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Here we go again.

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As it did in 2023, the federal government is seeking to restrict prayers by military chaplains, instead encouraging them to offer “spiritual reflections” — essentially life lessons or other inspirational bon mots.

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To jog memories: A 2023 Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) directive updating a 2013 military policy told chaplains to avoid using religious symbols at public events, to filter religious expression through “Gender Based Analysis” to avoid asking anyone to remove a hat or headwear during their presentations, and, most infamously, to replace prayer with nebulous, sanitized alternatives called “spiritual reflections.” This new document, taking the form of Military Personnel Instructions, clarifies that such reflections “do not use religious specific language” but rather “reflect upon lessons learned, beliefs, values, and experiences to inspire gratitude, remembrance, hope, and integrity.”

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The federal government is once again presenting this change as a more inclusive measure while achieving the exact opposite. As my colleagues said in 2023, prayers across different faith lines are not interchangeable. A spiritual reflection that applies to all ultimately applies to none. Trying to appease everyone actually makes no one happy.

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So would more religious prayers actually be a preferable option? We believe the research says yes. Working with the Angus Reid Institute, we have polled Canadians several times on the subject of religious tolerance. The religiously committed, privately faithful, and spiritually uncertain, by and large, view most faiths positively. While a Hindu prayer might not suit the needs of a Catholic, there is a broad endurance by those who are believers or consider themselves agnostic for other people living out their faith lives. It is only atheists, representing just a third of Canadians, who hold a negative perception of all other religions.

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What the government calls inclusion, in this case, is an effort to achieve neutrality that instead turns into secular uniformity, which is not the same thing.

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CAF leadership in 2023 argued that this change was necessary to comply with a 2015 Supreme Court ruling that enforced “state neutrality” which said “it must neither favour nor hinder any particular belief, and the same holds true for non-belief.” Yet the policy the CAF has adopted plainly favours non-belief.

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The CAF defends its policy by assuring that it “does not limit a chaplain’s personal beliefs or ability to provide spiritual or religious care,” which is a false statement. If chaplains are prohibited from praying in contexts where prayer has historically been expected, their ability to exercise their ministry has, in fact, been narrowed.

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This same new policy states that “the spiritual and moral health and well-being of CAF members are essential.” How do those faithful members of the CAF feel today, I wonder, when finding out how their command structure feels towards their choice of faith?

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A better approach would be one that is rooted in the pluralistic thinking that emerged from thousands of years of thought and hard-won experience by western states. A wider array of prayers, offering value and meaning to more members of the CAF and the broader community, is of greater value than a one-size-fits-all Valedictorian speech.