Canada bars prayer at military ceremonies ahead of Remembrance Day

The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) have banned public prayer at their events and ceremonies. The move has raised alarm among the country's military chaplains. Canada's defense minister has confirmed the policy, which will prevent any prayer at the Remembrance Day ceremonies in November. One military chaplain, who asked not to be identified, called the policy "a major historic change" for Canada and described it as "alarming" and demoralizing.

Until the rules took effect, phased in from 2023, chaplains of different faiths took turns reciting prayers at public military events: before formal dinners, at changes of command and at other ceremonies. Christian, Muslim and Buddhist chaplains took part, along with chaplains from other religious traditions.

Secular spiritual reflection instead of prayer

The new directive replaces that practice with a policy of "spiritual reflection" that rules out any mention of God or the sacred. "Instead, we can offer words of inspiration in a completely secular way," the chaplain said. A 2023 CAF directive requires chaplains' reflections at public events to be "inclusive" and to allow everyone present to identify with them, whatever their religious, spiritual, agnostic or atheist position.

A later directive, issued in July, explicitly bans any reference to God or the use of religious language at public events. Chaplains may still hold religious services and give private counseling, but they are barred from praying at Armed Forces gatherings. The chaplain called the measure "the end of religion in the public square, the cancellation of religion."

An exception for Aboriginal practices

The chaplain said that despite the ban on religious references, the policy allows for "Aboriginal practices" with spiritual content. The CAF's 2026 policy states that "Indigenous practices may be included in military contexts for cultural, historical and educational purposes," and that when they are built into military events or ceremonies they must suit the occasion and be clearly framed in an educational and cultural context.

The chaplain noted that First Nations members have already said their own prayers at many military functions and have carried out purification ceremonies, which are spiritual rituals. "There's an unusual clause in the new policy that is quite egregious," he said.

Effect on soldiers' morale

The chaplain called the policy unjust, "absurd" and contrary to the military's own goals. "Our leadership has gone out of its way in the name of inclusion and diversity to remove the chaplain's prayer. Which, in my opinion, is completely absurd, it makes no sense," he said. In military terms, he argued, faith gives soldiers meaning, purpose and strength. "We are doing our soldiers a disservice by removing prayer from the chaplain's role," he said.

On the mood inside the military, the chaplain said "morale is really low." "When you talk to military members, they are fed up with this progressive ideology. Everyone is afraid to speak because this is enshrined and we can face military consequences for offering prayer," he said.

A changed institution

The chaplain said the institution today is far from the one he signed a contract with. "The rules of the game were completely different," he said. Had he known he would not be allowed to pray as a chaplain, he said, he would have made a very different decision. More broadly, he said Canada has spent decades promoting diversity but has reached a turning point toward a "radical militant secularism," which he described as "strange because it is so anti-everything that is considered diversity."

With Remembrance Day approaching, the chaplain set out the dilemma facing his colleagues: "Should we quietly disappear or fight?" He questioned whether non-compliance is a workable path. Whether to follow the new rules is ultimately up to each chaplain.