Reviews of defence budgets should be tied to a review of commitments, not just expenditure, to ensure that UK Armed Forces are properly equipped and trained for role our defence and foreign policies are demanding of them.
Organise the chaplaincy service along secular lines, with no privileges for religious chaplains.
@philipjohn - about 9 years ago
✋ as with the other, similar, proposal as I don't think there should be a chaplaincy service.
@andrewedmondson - about 9 years ago
This is probably the position of the national secular society, on funding grounds. I don't know if there is a real need for secular chaplaincy. That would need some independent research.
On 17/04/2015 20:31, philipjohn wrote:
✋ as with the other, similar, proposal as I don't think there should be a chaplaincy service.
— Reply to this email directly or view it on GitHub https://github.com/openpolitics/manifesto/pull/329#issuecomment-94058552.
@philipjohn - about 9 years ago
I don't know if there is a real need for secular chaplaincy.
Indeed, and state funds shouldn't be used for religious services.
@PaulJRobinson - about 9 years ago
I'm not quite sure what this means. What is the 'chaplaincy service'? We are voting elsewhere on a proposal for a secular state/society and disestablishing the CofE. Doesn't that cover everything? Could you explain this in more detail?
@andrewedmondson - about 9 years ago
The chaplaincy service is funded by the government and traditionally provided Christian chaplains to minister to the spiritual needs of patients in the NHS, prisoners and members of the armed forces.
The latter two categories are pretty much the same as they have always been.
The NHS has been forced to accept that non-religious and non-Christian patients also have a right to chaplaincy. This begs the question of what a chaplain is for. Religious chaplains can adminster last rights, arrange funerals, pray with patients, friends and family, hold services, etc. But most of their time is spent listening.
As far as I am aware, the only chaplains that are paid are religious chaplains. There are virtually no Humanist/non-religious chaplains. This is partly because that most people don't know what a Humanist is or that there can be a non-religious chaplain, thanks to the biased system.
Non-religious patients usually find someone else to listen to them, e.g. friends, families, co-patients, cleaners, other staff.
On 20/04/2015 08:52, Paul Robinson wrote:
I'm not quite sure what this means. What is the 'chaplaincy service'? We are voting elsewhere on a proposal for a secular state/society and disestablishing the CofE. Doesn't that cover everything? Could you explain this in more detail?
— Reply to this email directly or view it on GitHub https://github.com/openpolitics/manifesto/pull/329#issuecomment-94385071.
The OpenPolitics Manifesto
@andrewedmondson - about 9 years ago