Religious Affairs: FM 3-83 (1-05)

Religious Affairs: FM 3-83 (1-05)

FM 3-83 (1-05) Religious Affairs April 2025 POCKET SIZE (6 x 9) Chaplains have served in the U.S. Army since the first days of the American Revolution, and chaplains and religious affairs specialists carry on the legacy of service today. The personal needs of Soldiers, the mission at hand, their own faith, and emerging religious affairs doctrine guide chaplains and religious affairs specialists as they meet the goal to uphold the free exercise of religion guaranteed by the First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States. To meet the historic mission of the Chaplain Corps amid a complex and lethal operational environment, the Army’s religious affairs doctrine must evolve. These factors necessitate a new religious affairs doctrine: • Alignment of religious affairs terminology, including religious affairs, religious support, and religious advisement under joint doctrine and terminology. • Considerations in executing religious affairs across the operational environments within the Army strategic contexts of the competition continuum. • Precision fire capabilities and anti-access and area denial complicate delivery of the Chaplain Corps’ core competencies of nurturing the living, caring for the wounded, and honoring the fallen. • Continued emphasis on potential chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) casualties, combined with high casualty rates requires a paradigm shift in terms of religious affairs to address fears associated with CBRN hazards, caring for the spiritual well-being of casualties, and honoring the fallen.