About The Navy Chaplain Corps boasts more than 800 Navy Chaplains from more than 100 different faith groups, including Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist and many others. Each Chaplain is also a Navy Officer, meaning each holds an important leadership role.
Chaplains offer everything from faith leadership, to personal advice, to much-needed solace – all while living up to the guiding principles of the Chaplain Mission: Providing religious ministry and support to those of your own faith
Facilitating the religious requirements of those from all faiths
Caring for all servicemembers and their families, including those subscribing to no specific faith
Advising the command in ensuring the free exercise of religion
Qualifications and Requirements A candidate seeking to serve as a Navy Chaplain and Officer must: Have a bachelor’s degree from a qualified four-year undergraduate educational institution
Have a graduate degree in theological or related studies from an accredited educational institution (note that a qualifying degree program requires no fewer than 72 semester hours or 108 quarter hours of graduate-level work with 2/3 of those course hours completed in residence; also note that related studies may include graduate courses in pastoral counseling, social work, religious administration and similar disciplines when one-half of the earned credits include topics in general religion, world religions, the practice of religion, theology, religious philosophy, religious ethics and/or the foundational writings from the applicant’s religious tradition)
Have two years of full-time religious leadership experience that’s compatible with the duties of a Religious Ministry Professional (RMP) in their respective Religious Organizations (RO) and relevant to the settings of military chaplaincy
Must be able to obtain an Ecclesiastical Endorsement from a religious faith organization registered with the Department of Defense.
General qualifications may vary depending upon whether you’re currently serving, whether you’ve served before or whether you’ve never served before.
To learn more and see if you qualify to serve as a Navy Chaplain, please call 855-###-####.
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