The chief of staff of the U.S. Air Force is pledging to address discrimination in the military service’s chaplain corps after a survey found that many chaplains experienced racial, gender or religious bias.
The “climate assessment study” by Global Services and Systems Inc. found that 97 percent of African-American chaplains sensed or directly experienced racial discrimination.
Ninety-one percent said they believed a “good old boy system” existed in the chaplain service that contributed to assignments and promotion possibilities.
Eighty percent of female chaplains reported sensing or experiencing gender discrimination, and 87 percent agreed that a “good old boy system” existed in the chaplain service.
Researchers concluded that 58 percent of Protestant chaplains sensed or experienced religious discrimination and 53 percent believed a “good old boy system” existed.
Twenty-nine percent of all chaplains said they sensed or directly experienced religious discrimination by their leaders and 22 percent said they sensed or directly experienced such bias from their peers.
They study said that evangelical Protestants, “appear to continue to lag behind” mainline Protestants in promotion to senior ranks and significant leadership assignments.
Gen. Michael E. Ryan, the Air Force chief of staff, said in a July 30 memo that he was concerned about the survey results and planned action to address them.
“There is no place in our Air Force for discrimination, preferential treatment or unfairness of any kind,” he said.
The study also notes Roman Catholic chaplains say their “single status” leads them to receive more remote assignments.
They also cited workload disparities in which a Catholic chaplain may pastor as many parishioners as three or four Protestant chaplains.
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