tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15178007.post8370942828883310624..comments2024-02-25T16:56:47.627-05:00Comments on Magdalene's Egg: Speaking of the Dark AgesFather Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18170260624474428623noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15178007.post-732943766343333722011-02-16T04:09:57.505-05:002011-02-16T04:09:57.505-05:00Or you could get the children of middle/upper midd...Or you could get the children of middle/upper middle class Mainline Protestants to volunteer to serve?<br /> Nah. Even if you did, there are only about 4% of those under 30 in the US who are members of ANY Mainline Protestant church.<br /> So you and the Armed Forces will continue to split socio-economically further and further apart.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15178007.post-82786422997107724222011-02-09T13:01:52.345-05:002011-02-09T13:01:52.345-05:00Well, you're half right. The end of the draft...Well, you're half right. The end of the draft did mean the end of the military's role as a shared experience which cuts across social and economic boundaries. (Which, incidentally, is why we at the Egg support its restoration).<br /><br />BUT I'm talking about the chaplain corps, members of which have always been volunteers, not draftees. So the draft is irrelevant.<br /><br />And yes, Viet Nam unquestionably made old-line Protestant churches a little bit leery of the military, and therefore of chaplaincy. Lutherans (especially if you include the LCMS, but even if you don't) are an exception to that. Our theology is pretty clear about the state's right to use armed force. (And, for better or worse, frees us from a lot of worry about church-state issues).<br /><br />As for numbers, DoD stats show that about 40% of active duty personnel identify as Evangelicals, versus 60% of chaplains. (And versus 14% of the US population in general). Those numbers are reported by NPR; the St Louis Post-Dispatch has very different numbers: 3% of military personnel and 33% of chaplains. I don't know the sources well enough to explain the disparity.<br /><br />Either way the point is that, yes, military service does attract Evangelicals in numbers disproportionate to the general population -- but chaplaincy attracts them in numbers that are significantly more disproportionate.<br /><br />But the real turning point, as I understand it, was a series of lawsuits, several years back, in which Evangelical -- or, let's face it, fundamentalist -- chaplains sued the Army. They weren't getting promotions, largely because they lacked the educational credentials of the "traditional" chaplains. Instead of going back to school, they cried religious discrimination. And so began what is widely perceived as a takeover.Father Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18170260624474428623noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15178007.post-83930327926997429282011-02-08T18:31:29.171-05:002011-02-08T18:31:29.171-05:00You have a lot of Evangelicals in the military bec...You have a lot of Evangelicals in the military because 1. the Mainline churches are wealthy enough to preach about the evils of militarism and not have to send their kids into the military for jobs and 2. only about 4% of the American population is under 25 and a member of ANY Mainline Protestant church. <br /> The smartest thing done to defuse social protests of the late 60s/early 70s? Abolishing the draft. Once the males at colleges no longer had to fear it, the wind went right out of the protesters' sails. If it wasn't a problem for the sons of the middle classes, it wasn't a problem.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com