Steps to Becoming a Chaplain
Chaplaincy training programs can be found at various colleges, universities, and seminaries. Many of these programs are master’s degree programs or form part of graduate level education. Courses may include counseling theory, theology and officiating religious ceremonies. Some organizations require prospective chaplains to have between two and four years of religious leadership experience, and some require ordination.
Even though many chaplains are ordained ministers, one does not have to be ordained to work as a chaplain, but he or she has to have an endorsement or commission from a faith group. An endorsement may be obtained after satisfying specific education and training objectives outlined by an authority in that faith group.
Requirements in training and experience can vary depending on one’s religion and the type of chaplaincy one is seeking. Although certification is not always required, it demonstrates that one has education, training and experience in chaplaincy. There are several professional chaplaincy organizations that offer certification, the largest of which is the Association of Professional Chaplains (APC). The APC’s Board Certified Chaplain program provides the opportunity to become a certified chaplain or an associate certified chaplain. Each certification requires one to complete graduate-level coursework in theology and pastoral care.
To become a board certified chaplain one needs to demonstrate professional excellence as a chaplain, meeting all eligibility requirements including a bachelor’s degree, 72-semester-hour graduate theological degree from an accredited school, four units of clinical pastoral education (CPE), and endorsement/support by a recognized spiritual/faith group, as recommended by a Certification Committee, approved by the Commission on Certification, and ratified by the Board of Chaplaincy Certification Inc. Board of Directors. If the candidate has not completed the 2000 hours of work experience as a chaplain, he or she can become an Associate Certified Chaplain.
Due to Chaplaincy often being a second (or third) career in one’s life, the requirement of the type of Bachelor’s degree is not limited to specific subject of study. The Master’s degree on the other hand must be in theological studies. If the theological degree program does not involve the required 72 semester credits, it is possible to apply for an equivalency of other relevant education to make up for remaining units.
Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) is a post-graduate training for spiritual counseling and professional spiritual health care that takes place in a hospital setting. Here theological students and ministers of all faiths (pastors, priests, rabbis, imams and others) are introduced into supervised encounters with persons in crisis. There are a total of four possible CPE units that can be taken either separately (10 weeks per single unit) or as a year-long program that includes all four units. Requirements to enter such program vary by the place. For example, the CPE program in Sequoia Hospital in Redwood City, CA, requires an applicant to have a Bachelor’s degree and at least one year of theological education at the graduate level, or specialized training in the applicant’s faith tradition.
This flexibility is not as common, and brings me to the next point that must be considered: the necessity of religious endorsement in order to become a chaplain. Initially chaplains were basically Christian priests who served first at the royal palace and later at war and in the hospitals. Now there are Protestant, Roman Catholic, and Jewish chaplains that serve in the armed forces of the United States. In hospitals there is more flexibility in the religious affiliations of the chaplains, and Buddhist chaplains are becoming more common. Yet, from the research I have made I realized that it is virtually impossible to become a chaplain if one is spiritual but not religious. Here, it is important to note, that if one is an atheist, one can join the Humanist organization and become a chaplain endorsed by the Humanist Society, which is now recognized by the Board of Chaplaincy Certification. This type of affiliation would imply that one does not believe in God or any higher intelligence at all. If one does believe in the higher consciousness, he or she can go through chaplaincy certification program in one of the interfaith seminaries, such as the Chaplaincy Institute in Berkley, CA, and the All Paths Divinity School in Los Angeles, CA, that both offer ordination as interfaith ministers to their students. One can then get the letter of endorsement from a Unitarian-Universalist church, for example.
While this final option would seem to be the best, it still requires endorsement and being in good standing within a certain faith community, which for people like me, being long-term SBNR, would be a personal sacrifice, as I feel sincerely repelled by an idea of any kind of group spirituality. This is a personal question for me, as I would like to be a chaplain some day, but still have not found a way to do it without being affiliated with some faith group.
If we look closely at what chaplains do, we find that they arrange religious services, advise on matters pertaining to spirituality and morality, administer various educational programs, conduct instruction classes in the moral guidance, and serve as counselors and friends to the military personnel and hospital staff and patients. These people visit patients who are dealing with heavy issues and help the families of patients deal with their loved one’s illness and, sometimes, impending death. They are the ones to be “human” in the times and places where nobody else can do it. And I truly believe that one does not need to be affiliated with a religious or non-religious group to prove one’s self worthy of taking this position.
I am aware that the position of Chaplain requires at least some sort of evaluation of the person’s moral standards and personal values, and I do not suggest that it should be based solely on trust and personal preferences. But I am sure there could be found another way to prove one’s worth and being “in good standing” in society in general without having to join any faith group, such as psychological evaluation during, say, the standard CPE training, where instructors get to know the student from within through much of self-reflection exercises and mentor observed service.