Chaplain (Col.) Kenneth Williams, a Pentagon chaplain, explains the U.S. Army's religious tolerance and diversity to foreign journalists visiting the Pentagon when the Office of the Pentagon Chaplain hosted the the East-West Center's 2015 Senior Jour...

Chaplain (Col.) Kenneth Williams, a Pentagon chaplain, explains the U.S. Army's religious tolerance and diversity to foreign journalists visiting the Pentagon when the Office of the Pentagon Chaplain hosted the the East-West Center's 2015 Senior Jour...

Zadil Ansari, Islamic lay leader and senior information security management officer, Army Chief Information Office, CIO/G6, explains the U.S. Army's religious tolerance and diversity to foreign journalists visiting the Pentagon when the Office of the...

WASHINGTON (Army News Service, Aug. 24, 2015) -- "My role as chaplain is not to push my faith on someone. My role is to facilitate someone's growth in his or her own faith," said Col. Kenneth Williams, a Pentagon chaplain.

The chaplain's statement might seem pretty obvious to someone in the Army, but not necessarily so to those in other armies or countries, where religious tolerance and diversity is oppressed.

Williams got a chance to explain how the Army embraces diversity in its ranks to others, Aug. 21, when the Office of the Pentagon Chaplain hosted the visit of 17 international journalists participating in the East-West Center's 2015 Senior Journalists Seminar.

Journalists, from Afghanistan, China, Egypt, India, Iran, Kuwait, Malaysia, Palestine, Pakistan and the Philippines, got the chance to hear from Williams and others during a visit to the Pentagon Chapel. They also visited the Pentagon Memorial dedicated to the memories of those who perished in the 9/11 attack.

His role as a chaplain is to help any Soldier in need, Williams said. "I can minister to a Protestant Soldier since that's my faith. For other Soldiers, I will help them find a chaplain of their own faith, help accommodate their special diets or practices. That's part of my responsibilities, supporting the free exercise of religions."

Williams spoke about religious diversity and religious accommodation.

The United States is a very diverse nation and the Army reflects that diversity, he said. The Army appreciates diversity, as it adds unique and important perspectives on many issues, he added.

There's a lot of diversity within the Department of Defense, he said, calculating that there are about 3,500 Muslims, 815,000 Protestants, 285,000 Roman Catholics, 4,700 Jewish service members, 770 Hindus, 5,300 Buddhists and 284,000, who report no religious preference.

The latter group doesn't necessarily mean they're not religious, he explained. It just means that they don't want to affiliate themselves with any particular faith group. Additionally, there are some 8,300 who report being atheist or agnostic.

Chaplains too are diverse, he said. Within the Army, there are about 1,600 chaplains, of whom five are Muslim, 10 Jewish, 11 Orthodox, three Buddhist and 99 Roman Catholic. The rest are of various Protestant denominations. Sixty-six of the 1,600 are female chaplains.

The Army works very hard to eliminate any form of discrimination, Williams said. A lot of training goes into understanding unique differences and working to respect others.

People within DOD are very tolerant of others with faiths that differ from their own, he said, noting that with such a large number in the armed forces, there are bound to be exceptions.

Regarding religious accommodations, the Army does whatever it can to do that, he said. That also means prohibiting Soldiers from coercing others to join in activities of faiths that are not their own.

It's everyone's responsibility, particularly the commanders' to accommodate the religious practices of others, he said. Chaplains can help them do so.

Williams then gave personal anecdotes about helping to accommodate.

Two decades ago, a Muslim recruit entered initial basic training during the month of Ramadan, a time when fasting during daylight hours was an important part of his beliefs. There was a lot of physical activity in training, so it was especially problematic, Williams said. Chaplains worked out a plan with his commander for him to eat before sunrise and after sunset.

Another example occurred during a deployment, Williams said. A female Muslim Soldier desired to continue her daily prayers, so chaplains worked with the commander to find a secluded place where she could privately go to practice her daily prayers.

There have been many other examples, he said, such as accommodating special religious garb and finding Kosher food.

Besides accommodating religious beliefs and practices, activities of chaplains include facilitating worship, religious education and counseling, Williams said. Counseling can be spiritual or it can be personal such as marriage and Family, anger and stress management, leadership development and so on.

The chaplain then fielded questions.

One journalist asked if there are mosques and synagogues on military posts.

Williams replied that typically, posts will have a chapel that's shared by all faiths, with services at different times and days for each. For instance, the Pentagon Chapel does this. One won't see any religious symbols. Those are brought in before the services and removed afterward so that there's a feeling of it being a welcoming place to all.

The architect who designed the Pentagon Chapel after 9/11 was a female Muslim, said Zadil Ansari, Islamic lay leader and senior information security management officer, Army Chief Information Office, CIO/G6. Ansari, who also spoke, is a retired Army signal officer.

She was adamant that there be no crosses, crucifixes or crescents. "This is a neutral place," Ansari said. "We all respect each other."

Ansari said that during Muslim prayers he's led in the Pentagon Chapel, he's seen visitors stop by with shocked looks that were not necessarily kind.

Ansari, who worked at the Pentagon during the attacks, said he lost a lot of friends and co-workers. He said he's proud of his Army service and respects the religions of others, as do others he works with. "Diversity is not a weakness, it's our strength," he said.

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