Military Chaplains and Religious Diversity (PDF)

Kim P. Hansen is an assistant professor of Sociology at Mount St. Mary's University

"This book is an important contribution to understanding the world of military chaplains . . . Those considering service as a military chaplain will benefit greatly from this work." Journal of Church and State

"At a time of too much polarizing debate about religion and politics and church and state, it is refreshing to read the stories of military chaplains who mostly steer a practical middle way through the potential conflicts. And it benefits us all to have Kim Hansen's balanced, objective sociological analysis of the chaplains' calling." - Richard Madsen, distinguished professor in the department of sociology, University of California, San Diego

"Professor Hansen's book is an engaging and down-to-earth description of the work that Americans expect of their military chaplains. A good listener and careful ethnographer, Hansen shows us the surprising balancing act performed by chaplains who are at once military officers, facilitators of the constitutional free exercise rights of a diverse group of sailors, marines, soldiers, and airmen, and representatives of their particular religious communities." - Winnifred Fallers Sullivan, professor of religious studies, chair, department of Religious Studies, affiliated professor of law, Maurer School of Law, Indiana University Bloomington

"In Military Chaplains and Religious Diversity, Kim Hansen has given a wonderful gift of scholarship to the chaplaincy and the churches of the United States. Hansen selects terms that illustrate the tensions in the military chaplaincy, clearly defining the parameters of the terms that are often problematic for the institution and its members. This work is further grounded in hearing about the struggles and joys of ministering in an extremely religiously diverse community from the chaplains themselves. This is a book that should be mandatory reading for all chaplain endorsers, and should be used in tutorials for all chaplains ministering in institutional settings.