A Note on Religious Needs Assessments

From CDR Leroy Young, NAVCENT Chaplain

The Navy Times published a story on OPNAVINST 1730.7F in the past week. In the narrative, an outside group expressed concern that the necessity to supply a Religious Needs assessment to personnel constituted a "religious test" and was therefore unconstitutional.

It is obligatory of commanders to support the free exercise of religion for those under their supervision who are in the Armed Forces. In order to accomplish this goal, they design a Command Religious

Program that caters to the personnel of various religious requirements. The Religious Needs Assessment (RNA) has been the method that the Navy used for almost three decades to determine what those needs are and now much personnel and resources should be allocated to address them.

For instance, the leadership need to know how many Seder Kits to order to make the Passover celebration easier to organize on a ship that is currently out at sea. Nonetheless, no Sailor, Marine, or members of the Coast Guard are obligated to disclose their religious beliefs or lack thereof when asked for information about themselves. Service members are notified, as a process of carrying out the RNA, they are not obligated to participate in the survey.

In addition, it is important that you are aware that policy grammarians who worked on the OPNAVINST 1730.1F would allow us to put a "and/or" in each line of the definition of spiritual readiness. Instead, they would only allow us to put "or" at the third line (see below), which was to be interpreted as a continuous

"and/or."

Hence, for the sake of clarity, the definition of spiritual preparedness that is stated in the instruction is any one of the spiritual practices below, or any combination of the following proactive:

-Connection to the Divine;

-Participation in a community of faith;

-Sacrifice for the Greater Good: or,

-The pursuit of meaning, purpose, value and service.

For further inquiry, please contact the NAVCENT Chaplain, CDR Leroy Young at leroy.c.young4.mil@us.navy.mil.

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Every year around this time, Christians throughout the world prepare their hearts for Easter by entering the season of Lent, which began on Ash Wednesday. Lent is a season of over 40 days where we are invited to refocus on that which is most important in our lives. What is most important for me right now, at this time and season of my life? That’s a wonderful question and you cannot properly begin Lent without finding an answer. What do I want to focus on now? For the religious, an even more important question is, “What does God want me to focus on now?”

Once you have your answer you’re ready to enter into the desert of Lent. It’s a desert because this is a season where we simplify our lives and commit to the hard work of spiritual growth. One doesn’t have to be religious to enter into an intentional time of disciplined training. The next question before training commences is, “What can I do to grow in this particular area? In other words, what will help me to remove unhealthy habits or to build healthy ones? What sacrifice is needed, what will nourish me on this journey, and what support will I require? In Christian language this is, what fasting, prayer, and almsgiving will I commit to during this season?

So let’s just say your goal is to be more present and attentive to your family. What can you sacrifice to support this goal? You can’t give up work or school, but what about that cell phone in your pocket? How much time do you spend watching YouTube shorts or scrolling through Instagram? Can you even make it through a family dinner without looking at your phone? If this is a problem for you, consider putting your phone in a box close to the door when you’re home or giving up YouTube for a season. This type of sacrifice/fasting brings freedom where we find ourselves overly attached.

But now that I’m no longer on my phone all day, what do I do with all my free time? If we are not intentional about replacing this with a new heathy habit we will simply replace it with other junk food. It does no good to replace YouTube with more Xbox. What will really feed my heart and soul? Prayer as a family? Exercising with your family? Bored games with the kids? It can be anything as long as it connects back to your goal in a healthy way.

The last category is almsgiving/acts of generosity. Be the change you want to see. You want to be more present to your kids, then help your wife do the dishes so you both have time to be together. Your wife and kids will see these efforts and hopefully begin to reciprocate, or at least be grateful. No guarantees here. Lent is a season where you get what you give to it. God will never be outdone in generosity.

Lent is over 40 days for a reason. It is a solid time of sustained effort to build healthy habits and to destroy unhealthy ones. It’s a time to build up momentum to carry you into the next season of your life. So build habits you want to maintain. Don’t give up some food/addiction only to gorge yourself once Easter arrives or your time of training ends. Don’t waste all that effort. You can dial back the intensity, but don’t lose your good habits.

Lent is a season for everyone, a journey into freedom. May your journey be filled with joy and peace.

Chaplain Lesher

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