WASHINGTON (BP)–Twenty-five chaplains alleging discrimination against evangelicals by the U.S. Navy are seeking to delay the latest cycle of promotion board hearings. Those hearings are scheduled to begin Feb. 4.
Filed in early January, the request for a preliminary injunction to postpone the fiscal year 2003 hearings is related to a pair of lawsuits filed on behalf of 25 current or former chaplains. One is a class-action suit that includes five Southern Baptists.
In supporting arguments filed with the request, attorney Art Schulz of Vienna, Va., said chaplains are unique in Navy service. While military employees, they still serve at the discretion of their denominational endorsing agency, he said.
Yet through its system, the Navy delegates to these religious representatives the power to veto the promotion of others, ultimately ending their career, Schulcz wrote. He argued that the plaintiffs have submitted examples, based on Navy records, where this has occurred.
“These Navy examples show that the system is [lacking standards] and prone to abuse,” Schulz argued. “The evidence from the social and behavioral sciences shows that chaplains would not be neutral when selecting other chaplains for promotion but would be expected to select for promotion those most like themselves (i.e., their own faith group), to reject those with whom they disagree theologically, and yet still maintain their choice was objective.”
In a response filed in federal court Jan. 18, the U.S. Justice Department contested the claim, noting that promotion selection boards have met twice in the two years since the litigation commenced.
With the exception of one staff corps flag officer board, the plaintiffs did not challenge the convening of these boards or indicate they had suffered irreparable harm by their actions, the government said.
“By allowing Chaplain Corps promotion selection boards to convene over the two years since the filing of these suits before seeking to enjoin them from continuing, plaintiffs have foregone any claim that they need emergency relief now,” it added.
This the second time the evangelical chaplains have challenged the promotion process, although their original objection has yet to be resolved.
Last July, Schulz sought to stop the Navy’s plans to award promotion bonus points to candidates who help recruit others for chaplaincy service.
The evangelicals charged that this directive, aimed at boosting chaplaincy numbers, discriminated against them. They cannot recommend fellow evangelicals pursue a career when Chaplain Corps’ policies favor those from liturgical backgrounds, Schulcz told Baptist Press.
The U.S. District Court judge hearing the cases has yet to rule on the earlier injunction request. But Schulcz hopes a recent ruling allowing the lawsuits to proceed will ultimately favor the attempt to delay the promotion boards.
“The court’s ruling on the motion to dismiss [the lawsuits] gives us a better chance,” Schulcz said. “The judge found it interesting that liturgicals represent only 8 percent of the Navy but have this large amount of chaplains. The Navy has to show a compelling government purpose for this.”
In his latest court filing, Schulcz said such a delay should not take an inordinate amount of time and will have “no discernable prejudice” on the Navy.
The plaintiffs cited eight specific grounds for their challenge to the chaplain promotion system. Among the allegations stated:
— Identifying a chaplain’s faith group to promotion board members, the majority of whom are liturgicals, a “religious tradition historically hostile to plaintiffs….”
— Allowing the Chief of Chaplains to approve promotion board members based on religious beliefs, which establishes a non-neutral viewpoint on the board. The system also allows the chief or his deputy to consistently act as board presidents, thus influencing members for ideological purposes.
— Always reserving a seat for a Catholic chaplain, which gives a preference to this faith group.
— Historically maintaining a denominational quota system and allowing the board to be dominated by liturgical chaplains.
“The Navy will have difficulty showing that there are no material facts in dispute,” Schulz wrote. “Plaintiffs’ evidence consists of the Navy’s own documents and material.
“They are not new nor is the Navy unmindful of their importance to the case. Rather, the Navy has gone to great lengths to make sure that incriminating evidence has been [edited] from the copies plaintiffs obtained under the Freedom of Information Act.”
However, the Justice Department labeled the latest injunction request inappropriate “litigation maneuvering” that prejudices its ability to present a full argument on the case’s merits.
Justice attorneys noted one primary challenge to the Chaplain Corps’ promotion system — that having chaplains sit on these boards violates the First Amendment — was dismissed by a Jan. 10 court order.
In addition, the government said promotion statistics cited by the plaintiffs to show the Navy’s policies are not religiously neutral fail to establish this allegation.
“The statistics plaintiffs cite not only do not support their claim that non-liturgicals are subject to unfavorable treatment by promotion boards, generally, that data refutes such a broad claim,” the brief argued.
“Perceptions that discriminatory policies may exist are mere speculation that can provide no basis for finding a First Amendment violation and certainly cannot support a finding of a likelihood of success on the merits necessary to grant a preliminary injunction.”
It also said an allegation regarding the Navy’s revealing of a chaplain candidate’s faith background is factually incorrect.
“The alleged ‘faith group identifier’ … has been removed from chaplain candidate records displayed to promotion selection boards for almost two years, and will continue to be removed (i.e., not displayed) to promotion boards in the future,” the government said.
“Regardless of plaintiff’s other allegations regarding ‘promotion policies,’ without [this] code being revealed to the board, the board is unable to distinguish the faith group of the candidates and thus cannot implement any alleged policy of denominational discrimination or favoritism.”
Along with its brief, the government filed a statement by Lt. Cmdr. Carey Sill of the Navy Medical Service Corps, verifying that in April 2000 his office began removing the code regarding chaplains’ denominational background before selection board hearings.
However, Schulcz said that is at odds with a statement filed in a separate court case filed in San Diego, Calif. In that case, the Navy said it took the step in July 2000, some 90 days later, Schulcz said.
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