Theological Diversity in the Military

From Alban at Duke Divinity School:

Nothing about seminary had prepared me for this. For three years, I had been one of many women studying for a divinity degree at Duke Divinity School. In fact, more than half of my classmates were women, and regardless of gender, almost all the students shared a similar understanding of theology and Scripture, pretty squarely within the bounds of mainline Protestantism.

Imagine my shock when, a few days after graduation, I arrived at Fort Jackson, S.C., for my basic training as an Army chaplain. Of the more than 150 students in my class, most came from religious traditions very different from — and far more conservative than — mine. Only four were women.

Any anxiety I felt on my arrival was confirmed hours later when we all boarded a bus to go to an event off the base.

“What are you doing here?” one of the aspiring shepherds asked me. “Women aren’t supposed to be chaplains.”

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