Self, alongside Rep. Morgan Luttrell (R-TX), introduced the legislation to combat bad actors within the Department of Defense who have targeted chaplains despite constitutional and statutory protections.
“The military chaplains’ ability to freely exercise their religious duties is not only a Constitutional right, but it is essential to forming the conscience and character of our warfighters,” Self said in a statement exclusive to Breitbart News. “As someone who benefited from the counsel of chaplains during my 25 years in the Army, I believe we must ensure they can serve without sacrificing their God-given freedoms.”
Self said DoD bad actors have undermined statutory protections and retaliated against military chaplains in an effort to secularize the military chaplaincy program.
According to his Congressional office, this included, but was not limited to, chaplains who were punished for providing solicited Biblical teaching on human sexuality, seeking a religious exemption from the COVID-19 vaccine, and even delivering sermons or performing rites, rituals, or counseling consistent with tenets of their faith.
Punishments for these protected activities often included downgraded performance reports, resulting in missed promotions and involuntary separation from the armed forces. Other punishments included degraded fitness reports, removal from their operational unit, travel permission denials, mandatory training denials, and many other forms of retribution that directly harmed — and for those who were not separated, continue to harm — their careers.
Basic protections exist for the chaplain’s religious freedom, and rights of conscience exist, including the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, Section 533 of the Fiscal Year 2013 NDAA, and the First Amendment. But Self believes explicit statutory protections for chaplains within the Department of Defense are still needed.
“Though we currently have an administration that values the chaplain corps, that may not always be the case,” Self said. “That’s why this legislation to safeguard religious liberty in our armed forces is urgently needed.”
The Military Chaplains Act would:
- Establish statutory protections for chaplains, ensuring they can live and serve in alignment with their sincerely held religious beliefs and the tenets of their religious endorsing organization.
- Clarify the broad scope of a chaplain’s purpose, role, and duties. These duties extend beyond facilitating the free exercise of religion to include advising on spiritual matters, including policy and command decisions.
- Provide explicit statutory protections, subject to prosecution under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, that all responsibilities are free from “censorship, undue restriction, or fear of retribution.”
- Institute a clear standardization of the chaplain’s role across branches of the armed forces.
This bill is supported by First Liberty Institute and Chaplains Alliance for Religious Liberty (CALL), who praised the bill in exclusive statements provided to Breitbart News.
“Chaplains are leaders in our fighting force, responsible for maintaining spiritual readiness,” said Erin Smith, Associate Counsel at First Liberty Institute. “It is imperative that we provide them with the tools and protections necessary to fulfill their duties in accordance with their sincerely held religious beliefs and the tenets of their religious endorsing body.
“The Military Chaplains Act of 2025 not only provides these tools but also ensures that chaplains can serve without censorship, undue restrictions, or fear of retribution.”
Bishop Derek Jones, Executive Director of the Chaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty, called the bill “long overdue,” adding that “no service member should ever be denied their constitutionally protected rights to freely exercise their religious beliefs, and this law will ensure our Military Chaplains are decidedly the most qualified among religious professionals.”
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