To amend title 10, United States Code, to define the purpose, role, duties, and professional qualification requirements for chaplains in the Armed Forces, and for other purposes.
About This Bill
Committee
Latest Action · May 12, 2026
Referred to the House Committee on Armed Services.
The Military Chaplains Modernization Act of 2026 comprehensively reorganizes and strengthens protections for military chaplains across the Army, Navy, and Marine Corps by establishing new Deputy Chief leadership positions with brigadier general and rear admiral ranks and clarifying that chaplains' primary duties include providing religious services, counseling, and advising commanders on religious accommodation. The bill protects chaplains' rights to perform their duties consistently with their sincere religious beliefs and their religious organization's practices, preventing the military from compelling them to perform services against their faith or retaliating against them for refusing to do so. It establishes enforcement mechanisms by making violations of chaplain protections prosecutable offenses under military law, requiring the President to issue implementing regulations within one year and update the Manual for Courts-Martial. The legislation reflects congressional findings that religious liberty and accommodation are constitutionally protected in military service, drawing on historical military leaders' recognition of chaplaincy's importance and recent Supreme Court decisions. These reforms affect all military chaplains and the command structures that oversee them, modernizing existing chaplaincy laws without specifying new funding requirements.
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