SMOL: Armed Forces declare secular war on God referenced in charter, national anthem

But the inevitable complications that may result from this self-inflicted wound to the Forces go beyond the Royal Canadian Chaplain Service.

Published Aug 29, 2026  •  Last updated 21 minutes ago  •  4 minute read

Close up of Canadian flag patch on military uniform. Erman Gunes - stock.adobe.com

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Late last month, our Canadian Armed Forces was made to culturally soil itself with yet another unnecessary, compelled woke-inspired directive. One imposed by a government hell-bent on satisfying the political prophets who claim to care about our military, but don’t.  

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Despite decades of quiet and measuredly sincere religious inclusion and tolerance by the military’s Chaplain service, those same Chaplains who might still dare to believe in some divinity must now hold their tongue and censor any spiritual impulses that could prompt them to utter that allegedly politically incorrect three-letter word (God) when speaking in their military capacity as Chaplains in public.  

Fortunately, for our Indigenous fellow military, the same directive was quite specific in insisting that the increasingly prominent indigenous public and religious traditions and practices within the military remain unaffected by the current directive.   

Also exempt by default, and I daresay significantly endorsed and emboldened by this new gag order on mentions of “God” are the secular, agnostic Humanist military chaplains that currently serve within the military.   

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‘Instruction is based on a false premise’

That’s right! Today’s allegedly narrow-minded, scripture-thumping Royal Canadian Chaplain Service has God-averse, non-religious secular Humanist Chaplains serving alongside the now publicly censored religious ones. Beginning in 2022, together with long freaky hair, optional shaving, and slovenly uniform and drill standards, the new  “Hippy Hair Force” under Justin Trudeau let their fab, flower power, far-out freak flag fly a little further with agnostic secular Humanist military chaplains.  

Can you dig it?   

Not wanting the politically correct Salomes of the world to demand my Roman Catholic head on a plate, I will refrain here from further engaging in any purely religious or theological smackdown.  Indeed, I really have no right to make any such protest since anyone who agrees to serve in our military has the right to follow their own beliefs, or non-beliefs. 

Provided their beliefs or non-beliefs do not infringe on the right of Chaplains and service members of other faiths to respectfully express their beliefs.  

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That’s not necessarily the case here.   

“This instruction is based on a false premise,” stated Bishop Scott McCaig of the Military Ordinary of Canada  in response to the Force’s policy against public mentions of God. “Simply because some belief systems do not profess the existence of God, or some other divine source, does not make them neutral.” 

He then goes on further to state that to have our government’s attempt to adjudicate between different professed beliefs or non-beliefs “is the opposite of state neutrality.” 

‘God keep our land glorious and free’

But the inevitable complications that may result from this self-inflicted cultural wound to the Forces go beyond the Royal Canadian Chaplain Service for as long as it may continue to exist.  

Let’s start with our Charter of Rights and Freedoms, a major component of our Constitution and a guiding force behind our political and legal system, which the Forces are committed to protect. Canada’s Charter begins with the preamble “Whereas Canada is founded upon principles that recognize the supremacy of God and the rule of law.” 

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Ironically, obeying the “rule of law” means that in 2026 Canadian Forces Chaplains must dutifully avoid referencing that same supreme God as proclaimed in the very same preamble to the very same Charter. Yup, only in Canada, eh.   

Then there is our national anthem. On July 1, 1980, as a very young infantry soldier with the Canadian Grenadier Guards, I was part of the honour guard when the Governor General and the elder Trudeau proudly proclaimed O Canada as Canada’s official national anthem.   

That very same anthem that includes the Line “God keep our land glorious and free.”  

God save us from ourselves

Hopefully, O Canada, despite its overt conflict with this Canadian Armed Forces directive banning public mentions of God,  can still be played at military parades, Remembrance Day, and other public events. Likewise, I would like to think that, despite the apparent conflict with their military directives, our soldiers, sailors and aviators (not to mention the military’s Humanist Chaplains) can still be expected to stand at attention and salute even when “God” is mentioned.  Same goes for “God” in God Save the King.   

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But, going forward, it is at least conceivable that a serving military member (or Humanist Chaplain) who might have a personal beef with the existence or concept of God could, hypothetically, make an arguable human rights case that the Force’s recent order banning public mentions of God gives them the corresponding right to refuse to pay proper marks of respect to our National Anthem.   

Indeed, such a case could conceivably be argued under our Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms acknowledging the “supremacy of God” 

O Canada! God save us from ourselves.   

– Smol is a retired teacher and veteran who served in the Canadian Armed Forces for more than 20 years. He is currently completing a PhD in military history. Reach him at [email protected]. 

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