Government · Statewide · VA · August 15, 2026
WaPo Opinion Claims Virginia Is Undermining Historic Military Chaplaincy
The Washington Post published an opinion piece on Aug. 14, 2026, titled "Virginia is undermining the chaplaincy George Washington helped build," written by Douglas L. Carver and Thomas J. Solhjem and run in the Post's 'Awakenings' religion newsletter. The headline asserts that a Virginia policy or institutional action is eroding the state's military chaplaincy tradition, which the authors trace to George Washington's establishment of chaplains in the Continental Army. The full body of the article was not accessible for review due to a subscription paywall, so the specific statute, regulation, or administrative decision the authors are criticizing cannot be independently confirmed from available material. What is confirmed: the piece appeared under the named bylines in the Post's opinion section, is framed around Virginia specifically, and argues a historic chaplaincy institution is being weakened. Readers wanting the underlying facts should obtain the full text directly before drawing firm conclusions about what changed and when.
Source: The Washington Post
Why Bible-Believing Christians Should Care
Military and state-institution chaplaincy exists to secure free exercise of religion for those who serve, historically including chaplains free to pray, counsel, and minister according to biblical conviction. When policy narrows what chaplains may say or reframes chaplaincy as generic 'spiritual services' rather than a religious calling, it pressures believers to set aside biblical fidelity for institutional neutrality. Christians should watch closely whenever an institution with genuinely Christian roots — American military chaplaincy traces directly to Washington's own convictions — is reported to be drifting from that foundation, even before every mechanism of the change is confirmed. This is exactly the kind of quiet institutional shift believers can miss until practice on the ground has already changed.
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From the book
Paul defines the divinely ordained function of the state: "For the one in authority is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God's servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer" (Romans 13:4). Government exists to restrain evil and to praise good. When the state begins praising evil and punishing good, it is in rebellion against its own design. Christians engage politics to call the state back to its specific, limited jurisdiction.
— Chapter 20, “Biblical Foundations: The Stewardship of the Sword”
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