The Secular and the Religious at the New York State Chaplain Task Force
by Anna Nowalk
This semester, I had the opportunity to work with the New York State Chaplains Task Force (NYSCTF). Along with completing some basic chaplaincy training and speaking with chaplains about their work, I shadowed chaplains at a few events. Drawing on the academic conceptions of the secular put forth by Harvey Cox and José Casanova, I’d like to demonstrate how the NYSCTF can be viewed as secular, as well as explore how it is that this secular designation enhances the mission of an organization that’s grounded in the belief that people should have access to spiritual care.
First, a little about the organization and chaplaincy. The New York State Chaplains Task Force, started by Dr. Reverend Marcos Miranda (“Rev. Dr. Marcos A. Miranda”), is an interfaith organization, organizing over 5,000 chaplains from a variety of religious traditions (“About Us”). A chaplain’s job is not to serve a specific congregation – rather, they work on behalf of an establishment, such as a prison or a hospital (Miranda, 3). In my Zoom orientation with Rev. Miranda, he explained that chaplains at the NYSCTF undergo training in the form of a series of one-hour sessions over ten weeks, or an accelerated study in two days. In addition to these sessions, chaplains can become “Spiritual Care First Responders” with FEMA courses that instruct on effectively assisting during a crisis, and other certifications for things such as first aid. Through this training, NYSCTF chaplains learn how to provide both spiritual and non-spiritual care in critical situations (Miranda 14).
A key aspect of the NYSCTF’s work is being able to provide care for people of other faith traditions. This is evident in their three-part code of ethics, which chaplains are required to memorize: “We minister to our own”, “We facilitate the worship of others”, and “We care for all” (Miranda 4). According to the training manual, this collection of values “allows a chaplain to help others without doing any harm.” (Miranda 4) There’s another reference to the Hippocratic Oath later in the training manual, in a prohibition of proselytizing when ministering to people in need. (Miranda 15) This language, along with drawing a connection between chaplains and doctors, implies that imposing one’s religion on someone in need of spiritual care is damaging.
In the first chapter of The Secular City, Harvey Cox separates secularization, which he views as a good thing, from secularism, which he explains is an imposed value system that faces similar problems as that of imposed religion (25-26). José Casanova makes similar distinctions within the realm of the secular in “The Secular, Secularizations, Secularisms.” He separates secularity into three sections: “mere secularity” involving ambivalence towards religion, “self-sufficient and exclusive secularity”, where the default position is nonbelief, and “secularist secularity”, which antagonizes religion and seeks its suppression (60). The NYSCTF seems to fall into the first category: though it operates under the assumption that people deserve spiritual care (Miranda 4) and its existence is meant to facilitate that, it doesn’t hold up specific religious ideals. It is, after all, interfaith. In a way, it embodies a pro-religion “mere secularity.” The training manual explains that chaplains should be strong in the beliefs of their own religious tradition (Miranda 19). During our Zoom orientation, Rev. Miranda argued against agnostic and atheist chaplains. The NYSCTF’s value system doesn’t revolve around a specific religious creed, but rather the belief that attending to someone’s spirit is an important aspect of caring for their person. Casanova goes on to explain how secularism fosters democracy, with “free exercise” and “no establishment” being key features (71). The NYSCTF does not see itself in conflict with principles like this. In fact, the First Amendment is mentioned in their handbook (Miranda 10). Their mission is not to force religion on people, but rather to ensure that the right to practice religion is respected.
These secular (in the sense that Cox and Casanova use them) principles translate to concrete guidelines for engagement with others. For example, NYSCTF chaplains are taught that during public prayers for an audience of people of different religious traditions, the prayer should avoid excluding other religions (Miranda, 20). One of the events I attended as a part of my time with the NYSCTF was a homeless outreach event which took place at a Salvation Army building. Tables were lined up outside to connect people with services. The chaplain I shadowed and I were placed in the welcome area. This chaplain, who was Christian, emphasized the use of impartial language on more than one occasion. She used titles like “Loving Creator” when offering prayers for the strangers we welcomed. This intentional language allows people of multiple traditions to participate in prayer. However, it can also be limiting. At the same event, a volunteer mentioned that he was considering becoming a chaplaincy. He asked if he’d be allowed to pray in Jesus’ name and seemed disappointed when he heard that the answer was no. I think this volunteer had the people skills to be a chaplain but, somewhat ironically, his religious beliefs – or perhaps style of religious expression – served as a barrier.
At the center of their work is the “ministry of presence,” which “helps to establish a relationship of mutual trust and respect while remaining sensitive at all times to the interpersonal differences which may exist, as well as to the dignity of all individuals involved” (Miranda, 8). This ministry of presence manifests in a broad recognition of who needs spiritual care: at this outreach event, there were chaplains placed at various locations, one of which was the volunteer break area. There was a recognition that volunteers may need help processing the things that they’d witnessed or experienced. The scope of the ministry of presence can be even broader when it’s supported by the secular values of tolerance and respect for those of other religions, which allows chaplains to serve and connect with others whose religious beliefs are different without doing harm.
Thank you to all the chaplains I shadowed and spoke with, especially Rev. Marcos Miranda and Rev. Kim Osorio, who provided invaluable guidance and support.
Works Cited
“About Us.” CHAPLAIN TASK FORCE, www.chaplains.care/rev-dr-marcos-a-miranda.html.
Casanova, José. “The Secular, Secularizations, Secularisms.” Rethink Secularism, edited by Craig Calhoun., et al., Oxford University Press, 2011.
Cox, Harvey. Harvey Cox, “Chapter One: The Biblical Sources of Secularization,” The Secular City: Secularization and Urbanization in Theological Perspective. Princeton University Press, 2013.
Miranda, Marcos A. “U.S. – N.Y.S. Chaplain Task Force Community Crisis & Disaster Response Chaplaincy Training: Training Manual.”
“Rev. Dr. Marcos A. Miranda.” CHAPLAIN TASK FORCE, www.chaplains.care/rev-dr-marcos-a-miranda.html.
