Abstract
Religion in the Ranks examines the place of religion in the present-day Canadian Forces. The book shows how the structural trends of modernization, specifically secularization, the rise of individualism, and the emergence of greater ethno-religious pluralism and bureaucratization, influence religion in the Canadian Forces. Benham Rennick also argues that despite the structural influences, religion is significant for many people in the Canadian Forces, especially for handling questions of values, meaning and morals, and operational stress. Religion remains important for the Canadian Forces as a social institution, both as a means of maintaining operational effectiveness and as a system of meaning, belonging and interpersonal contact and support outside of the rational bureaucracy of the military.
Benham Rennick contextualizes her study in late modernity, a term she uses to “identify the present sociological and historical situation,” rather than a “postmodern context.” She sees late modernity as a second wave of modernity, where much of what was established during the industrialized era (e.g., scientific rationalism, progress, bureaucratic efficiency) remains in a society now dominated by globalized interests, scientific and technological advances, greater information exchange and a more relativistic outlook towards any one claim to “the truth” (14). This definition is important because it is through this lens that Benham Rennick interprets changes within the Canadian Forces.
She uses several trends of modernization to demonstrate how religion operates within the Canadian Forces. One trend is secularization, such as the waning chapel life, “where secularization has considerably reduced the number of people participating in chapel life at most bases” (59). Despite a predominantly Christian presence on most bases, chapels are moving toward a secular or interfaith environment (61). This sets a paradox because many who wish to worship in a Christian chapel are left unsatisfied (e.g., following the removal of religious symbols, such as the cross or the word “Jesus” from a liturgy), whereas any effort to accommodate religious minorities necessitates a move toward an interfaith “sacred space.” Secularization also affects the role of the chaplain because, as fewer people are attending the chapels, the chaplains must find new ways to engage with soldiers; for example, by talking to people in the smoking section.
Another trend of modernization discussed in Religion in the Ranks is the rise of individualism. This is evident in a discussion of private religion. Benham Rennick (2011: 97) mentions that “this subjective outlook takes precedence over established ‘religious doctrines,’ but also this individualized and self-directed interpretation of ultimate meaning comes in part as a rejection of a traditional way of believing.” There are several examples of this, from the irate soldier who had the affiliation ‘NRE' (no religion) on his dog tags and claimed his religious affiliation was a private matter (98), to the homosexual solider who rejected traditional religion and embraced “spirituality” (97–98), and the notion of many Québécois who claim a religious affiliation to Roman Catholicism, but have beliefs that are “highly subjective, individualized, and private” (101).
Benham Rennick discusses the emergence of greater ethno-religious pluralism in relation to the participation in formal religion in the Canadian Forces by religious minorities (e.g. practicing Christians [in relation to the mostly “passive Christian” personnel], Muslims, Sikhs). She notes how “religious personnel who want to practice their faith have learned to adapt needs to their conditions” (143); for example, building make-shift prayer rooms for Muslims or accommodating the vegetarian diet of Sikh soldiers. This, again, points to the individualized nature of religion in the Canadian Forces, but it also speaks to a new identity of the Canadian Forces as pluralistic, accepting and encouraging diversity, distinct from its Christian heritage.
A final trend is bureaucratization. One example is the rise of credentialism in the process of recruitment and promotion of chaplains. This relates to the different credential requirements of chaplains depending upon their religious background. For example, a United Church Minister requires a minimum of six years of post-secondary education, whereas an Imam requires no formal education. Such bureaucratization creates difficulties among chaplains, such as the chaplain who complained that the service is “99% Christian” and “everyone is saying ‘how will we have to change because of them?’” (161).
This book is of interest to anyone concerned with religious pluralism in a Canadian context, particularly those grappling with the way institutions founded on the historical, specifically Christian, values of Canada are adapting to a religiously diverse, modern society. Such knowledge also benefits government bureaucrats responsible for developing policy accommodating religious minorities. Benham Rennick suggests that the place of religion in the Canadian Forces provides insight into understanding religion in Canada, in several ways, especially through the idea that religion persists in an individualized, subjectivized and diffuse state in the military, as it does in Canadian society, and through a new religious pluralism. Religion in the Ranks also “points to the continuing relevance of the chaplaincy, an institution inherited from Canada’s Christian past that has been able, more or less successfully, to adapt to these new conditions” (161).
The methodological thoroughness of Benham Rennick is commendable, particularly for a civilian studying the military, with limited access to information and the limited amount of existing research on the role of religion in the Canadian armed forces. Also, as evidenced from ethnographic components of the work, many in the military feel religion is a “private matter.” Hopefully, this study will lead to more open discussion of religion among Canadian soldiers and military officials.
Nonetheless, this book would benefit from further study of religion in the military beyond the soldiers’ own understanding of their religious lives and the place of the chaplaincy in the institution as a whole. The discussion of values and ethics in the Canadian military is essential and this study could expand our understanding of how values such as self-sacrifice, duty, honor and the greater good, operate as a framework of “Canadian values,” which transcend religious diversity. Such values, as Benham Rennick notes, originate from a Judeo-Christian tradition. This paradox belies much of our understanding of a modern Canada: that our so-called secular values still uphold our Christian heritage. How can we promote religious freedom using Christian values, and what does it mean to live in a secular or even post-secular society?