September 10, 2026, Washington, D.C. – The Religious Freedom Institute (RFI) urges the U.S. Senate to pass the Military Chaplains Modernization Act of 2026 (MCMA), which Senator James Lankford (OK) introduced on August 6. Cosponsors of the MCMA include Senators Mike Rounds (SD), Chuck Grassley (IA), Kevin Cramer (ND), and Katie Britt (AL). Rep. Keith Self (TX-03) led the effort to incorporate the MCMA by amendment into the House-passed National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

“America’s military chaplains fulfill many vital roles – first-line diplomat, educator, advisor, and minister – and the law must reflect this broad scope,” said RFI President David Trimble. “The Military Chaplains Modernization Act would codify in statute the range of critical duties chaplains already perform and would further secure their religious freedom.”

U.S. military chaplains have two general areas of responsibility, both of which are integral to their vocation. First, they support force readiness by enabling servicemembers to exercise their faith wherever they are, including through prayer, worship, participation in religious rituals, and other individual and communal religious expressions. Second, they advise their respective commanders on the religious dimensions of their operational environment, including in conflict zones.

In 2025, RFI joined a small group of partners to advance a prior version of the MCMA, advising on key provisions of the bill, contributing to the education of select Members of Congress, and building momentum around it. Foundational to this effort, RFI and its partners recognized that the current statutory basis for the work of military chaplains is entirely inadequate. In brief, federal law charges chaplains with providing religious services once per week to military personnel and with officiating funerals. Which means that in practice military chaplains do exceedingly more than what federal law specifies on their behalf.

The MCMA would remedy that deficiency by providing robust legal ground for what military chaplains actually do. Importantly, all three services (Army, Navy, and Air Force), along with their respective Chiefs of Chaplains, support this legislation.

“The Chaplain Corps is the first line of defense in protecting the religious freedom of our nation’s warriors and is instrumental in advancing the cause of religious freedom abroad.” said RFI Senior Chaplain Fellow (Major) Graham B. Glover, who serves in the U.S. Army Reserve and is a Lutheran parish pastor. “Strengthening the legal framework in which military chaplains work and serve is long overdue.”

Glover provided written testimony to the White House Religious Liberty Commission in support of its fourth hearing, held in December 2025, examining the state of religious freedom in the U.S. military.

Senator Lankford, upon introducing the MCMA, provided the following summary of what the bill would accomplish:

• Codifies the purpose, role, duties, and professional qualifications of chaplains across the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Space Force.
• Guarantees that chaplains may conduct worship, provide counseling, teach, deliver sermons, minister, and offer prayer in accordance with their sincerely held religious beliefs and the tenets of their religious-endorsing organization, free from censorship, undue restriction, or fear of retribution.
• Prohibits any member of the Armed Forces from requiring or assigning a chaplain to perform any rite, ritual, ceremony, sermon, speech, task, or action contrary to the chaplain’s sincerely held religious beliefs.
• Protects chaplains from retaliation or adverse personnel actions, including denial of promotion, letters of reprimand, and negative entries in the chaplain’s record, for refusing to violate their beliefs.
• Establishes that violations are subject to prosecution under the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
• Codifies the ranks and roles of the Chief of Chaplains and Deputy Chief of Chaplains as principal advisors to their respective service Secretaries and Chiefs of Staff.

“These clearly stated principles are commonsense applications of First Amendment freedoms to military chaplains and those they serve,” said Trimble. “The Senate should move swiftly before the midterm elections to ensure the MCMA becomes law.”

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The Religious Freedom Institute (RFI) works to secure religious freedom for everyone, everywhere. RFI is a non-profit, non-partisan organization based in Washington, D.C.

Media Contact: Nathan Berkeley
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202-838-7734
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