Toward a Classification of Managing Religious Diversity in the Ranks

Abstract

Military establishments view religious soldiers with mixed feelings and must contend with the specific dilemmas these soldiers present. This article suggests what might influence the managing of religious diversity in the ranks, using the idea of dimensions of isolation. The more removed a military is from society, the more likely it is to utilize internal mechanisms when dealing with religious soldiers. The less removed it is from society, the more likely it will be to turn to external mediating mechanisms in this regard. Using three dimensions of isolation (physical, temporal, and psychological), this article discusses the treatment of religious troops in the Israeli and Turkish cases. After exploring what can be learned from these cases regarding the accommodation of religious soldiers, the article concludes with some suggestions for future research.

Religious Rights and Involuntary State Institutions in Democratic Countries: On Evenhandedness and Ecumenism in Militaries

“…On Israel's civil religion, seeLiebman et al (1983); Israel's general religion-state relations model is complex, but by and large is a mixture of the Millet system with some liberal attributes, seeBarak-Erez (2008); Laborde (2017).45 The funerals of non-Jewish soldiers are usually conducted by a civil clergy of the relevant religion, in a full and formal military apparatus (on religious diversity within the IDF seeRosman 2016). …”