Operational, Social, and Religious Influences Upon the Army Chaplain Field Manual, 1926-1952

The early formulation of the Army Chaplain Field Manual reveals the Army Chaplaincy struggling with individuals using the Army Chaplain Field Manual to further their social and religious beliefs upon other chaplains. The research is to determine what were the influences and who were the chaplains that promulgated their own agenda at the expense of the free exercise of religious beliefs by other chaplains. The research begins with chaplains who privately published "Manuals" and "Duties" of chaplains. These writings contributed to the first edition of the chaplain manual in 1926. The draft 1926 manual is also compared with the first edition to reveal issues the Army Adjutant General wanted changed in the manual. A developmental and comparative analyses will be conducted upon the following editions 1937, 1941, 1944, 1947 and 1952. The results of the research reveal that the early chaplaincy struggled with their non-combatant status. Second, social issues such as recreation and the playing of "moving pictures" on the Sabbath was respected by the military but progressives within the chaplaincy forced their agenda upon the majority of chaplains in the military.