August 26, 2002

Chaplains' suit a class action
___WASHINGTON (RNS)--A U.S. District Court judge ruled Aug. 19 that a case in which non-liturgical chaplains have sued the Navy over alleged discrimination is a class action suit, raising the possibility that hundreds of chaplains could eventually be affected.
___U.S. District Judge Ricardo Urbina agreed with the suing chaplains that the Navy incorrectly characterized their claims as relating to individual incidents rather than a common policy.
___"What the plaintiffs actually allege is a pervasive pattern of religious preferences favoring liturgical Christian chaplains over non-liturgical Christian chaplains," he wrote in a 16-page opinion. "All the comparatively minor individual differences among the plaintiffs' claims shoot out like spokes on a wheel from the tire's center--the Navy's alleged policies and practices that supposedly foster unconstitutional religious preferences."
___Urbina has yet to determine how many chaplains might be included in the class, but the lawyer for the chaplains estimates the case that currently has 17 named plaintiffs could eventually total anywhere from 700 to 1,000 people.
___Attorney Art Schulcz said he hopes the class certification will include all non-liturgical Protestant chaplains who have served in the Navy since 1988.
___Lt. John Spiers, public affairs officer for the Navy chief of chaplains, said the military service considers it inappropriate to comment on litigation.
___The class action suit is one of several winding their way through the courts regarding claims of discrimination by current and former evangelical chaplains in the U.S. Navy. Several Southern Baptist chaplains are among the plaintiffs.

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