(NAVEDTRA 10052) is revised and issued each
year by the Chief of Naval Education and Train-
ing. Figure II-1-3 shows the front cover of this
publication for calendar year 1982. The RP
should check with [he personnel in the local
commands educational services office to ensure
that this bibliography is current and readily
available for use in the Command Religious Pro-
gram (CRP).
Since this module is the first material
developed for the RP rating, the remainder of
this chapter will be devoted to describing: the
Chaplain Corps,
military chapels and their
origin, the CRP at a shore installation and
aboard ship, the history of the Religious Pro-
gram Specialist rating, RP skills and knowledge,
RP duty stations, and CRP terminology. This
background information is provided in order to
better understand the place of the RP rating in
todays Navy.
THE CHAPLAIN CORPS
The second article of Navy Regulations was
adopted by the Continental Congress on 28
November 1775 and made provision for divine
services afloat. It reads:
The Commander of the ships of the thir-
teen United Colonies are to take care that
divine service be performed twice a day on
board, and a sermon preached on Sundays,
unless bad weather or other extraordinary
accidents prevent.
Although chaplains are not specifically men-
tioned in this article, it is obvious that Congress
intended that the clergy be placed on board
naval vessels to conduct worship services.
A Congregational minister, the Reverend
Edwards Brooks, was the first chaplain to serve
in the Continental Navy. He reported aboard the
Hancock in the spring of 1777 and was subse-
quently captured by the British in May 1777.
Sometime later he was exchanged for a captured
British chaplain.
The Reverend William Balch was commis-
sioned a chaplain in the United States Navy on
30 October 1799. He is considered 10 be the first
commissioned chaplain of the United States
Navy. However, there is clear evidence that
William Austin was serving as a chaplain
without a commission aboard the Constitution
nearly a year before Reverend Balch reported
for duty. Since the practice of using unordained
men as chaplains was common in the early days
of the Navy, it is not known whether Mr. Austin
was an ordained minister. However, since he
performed duties as a chaplain and was listed in
the official records of the ship, it appears that
the distinction of being the first United States
Navy chaplain belongs to him.
During this period, Navy chaplains were ex-
pected to serve as teachers of various subjects as
well as perform ministerial functions. In answer
to an inquiry made by a member of Congress
regarding the duties of a Navy chaplain, the
Secretary of the Navy on 21 February 1811
wrote:
The duties of a chaplain in the Navy are
to read prayers at stated periods; to per-
form all funeral ceremonies; to lecture or
preach to the crew on Sundays; to instruct
the midshipmen and volunteers in writing,
arithmetic, navigation, and lunar observa-
tions, and when required to teach other
youths of the ship.
This statement summarizes the regulations
which had been set forth in 1802. Therefore, it is
obvious that the main burden of preparing
junior officers for their future duties rested
upon chaplains. This trend continued until the
Government established the Naval Academy at
Annapolis in 1845.
After the establishment of the Naval
Academy, chaplains began to devote more atten-
tion to their ministerial duties rather than to
teaching midshipmen. However, the regulations
of 1939 shown in figure II-1-4 clearly indicate
that (he chaplain was expected to assist person-
nel who were deficient in certain academic sub-
jects (item number 5 in the figure). The duties of
the chaplain were not significantly modified dur-
ing World War II.
This module is not designed to cover the
complete history
of the Chaplain Corps.
However, it is important for the RP to know
that Navy chaplains have distinguished
themselves in
several professional areas
throughout United States history. The foregoing
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