A January 2022 report from Canada’s Minister of National Defence Advisory Panel recommended that the Defence Minister “redefine” chaplaincy to exclude religions that do not support LGBTQ and a “gender equality” ideology.
The report, published January 7 and was addressed to Minister of National Defence Anita Anand, says that due to the Canadian “Defence Team” and the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) having a commitment to “equality and inclusivity,” it is “inconsistent” to continue hiring “(c)haplaincy applicants affiliated with religious groups whose values are not aligned with those of the Defence Team.”
While not outlining specific examples of which religions the panel is referring to, the report uses the example that “some churches’ exclusion of women from their priesthoods violates principles of equality and social justice” while also mentioning that “religion can be source of suffering and generational trauma,” especially for “many lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and two-spirited members of Canadian society.”