Faith-Focused Resource Guide for LGBTQ+ Military Community

Throughout this issue, many contributors share their top resources. For your convenience, Modern Military compiled a list of additional helpful resources, programs, and organizations for the community.

This list is far from exhaustive, but we hope it’s a helpful starting point for everything from reporting discrimination to finding minority-faith chaplains to accessing support within specific faith groups.

Resources if You're Experiencing Discrimination

If you’re active duty and experience discrimination, you might first turn to your installation’s Equal Opportunity or Inspector General offices. If you’re not making progress, or if you’re not active duty, other avenues you could pursue include:

• Modern Military’s discrimination reporting form allows you to confidentially submit past or current incidents of LGBTQ+ and/or HIV discrimination to Modern Military. Reports can be, but do not have to be, related to religious discrimination. This data helps us advocate in support of LGBTQ+ friendly legislation as well as DoD and VA policy change. Depending on your situation, we may be able to provide advice, referrals, resources, or advocate on your behalf. Learn more: https://modernmilitary.org/report-an-incident
• U.S. Armed Forces Legal Services Locator provides a list of active duty legal offices at CONUS installations: ​​https://legalassistance.law.af.mil/. If you’re OCONUS, check with your base. Learn more about what base legal offices can and can’t do through Military OneSource: https://www.militaryonesource.mil/benefits/free-legal-help
• Military Religious Freedom Foundation advocates for religious freedom for all service members and may be able to provide legal resources if you have experienced religious discrimination. Learn more: https://www.militaryreligiousfreedom.org 
• Americans United for Separation of Church and Faith does advocacy, education, policy work, and litigation to defend the separation of church and state and freedom of religion (or freedom from it). Their website provides information on your religious rights, how LGBTQ+ people are impacted by attacks from religious extremists, and actions you can take to advocate for the separation of church and state. You can report suspected violations of church-state separation or religious freedom here: https://www.au.org/report-a-violation 
• Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) tracks Islamophobic or religious-based discrimination across the U.S.: https://www.cair.com/report. Their civil rights department counsels, mediates and advocates on behalf of Muslims and others who have experienced religious discrimination, defamation, or hate crimes.
• The American Jewish Committee provides resources on how to report anti-semitism: https://www.ajc.org/ReportingAntisemitism. In 2023, they released a State of Antisemitism in America survey of U.S. Jews.

General Information and Resources

These informational resources share information on various faith groups.

• Military OneSource’s chaplain primer shares what a chaplain is actually supposed to do, along with their traditional roles and responsibilities : https://www.militaryonesource.mil/relationships/married-domestic-partner/the-unit-chaplain-roles-and-responsibilities/ 
• National VA Chaplain Service program provides 24/7 pastoral care to veterans. On their website, you can learn more about what VA chaplains do and how to find one near you. Learn more: https://www.patientcare.va.gov/chaplain/index.asp 
• The Trevor Project’s Navigating LGBTQ+ Identities and Religion guide features valuable information, Q&A, and links to resources for various faith groups. These resources include support groups, databases of affirming faith communities, and more: https://www.thetrevorproject.org/resources/article/navigating-lgbtq-identities-and-religion 
• National LGBTQ Task Force’s Queering Faith program has several affirming programs: https://www.thetaskforce.org/programs/queering-faith/. One part of the program focuses on working with faith and spiritual organizations to provide affirming resources and support. Their partners are a collection of affirming organizations and advocacy groups for a variety of faith traditions, including a collective focused on gender-diverse Christians: https://www.thetaskforce.org/programs/queering-faith/partners/ 
• PFLAG’s faith resources link to two publications on LGBTQ+ identity and faith. Resources are sorted by faith group, including those for Christians, Jews, Muslims, interfaith/non-denominational, and non-Judeo-Christian/Abrahamic denominations: https://pflag.org/resource/pflag-national-faith-resources/ 
• Human Rights Campaign’s Religion & Faith hub features downloadable guides for LGBTQ+ people in various faith groups, including Evangelical Christianity, Mormonism, Judaism, Islam, and Catholicism. It features articles on religion and coming out issues specific to African Americans, Asian Pacific Americans, and Latines: https://www.hrc.org/resources/religion-faith?topic=coming-out 
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Finding Support and Chaplains for Specific Faith Groups

There are countless organizations supporting LGBTQ+ people of specific faith traditions. We compiled a few, alongside comprehensive lists from our partner, PFLAG.

Christian

• PFLAG’s list of Christian LGBTQ+ resources support and advocate for LGBTQ+ Christians, within and outside specific denominations: https://pflag.org/resource/faith-resources-for-christians/ 

Jewish

• JWB Jewish Chaplains Council supports Jewish military personnel by lobbying and advocating for religious accommodations (i.e. wearing a kippah, sitting Shiva, accessing kosher meals). They endorse Jewish military chaplains and provide support to the chaplains and service members they work with. Learn more: https://jcca.org/signature-programs-and-events/jwb/ 
• PFLAG’s list of Jewish LGBGTQ+ resources includes organizations, networks, and programs for LGBTQ+ Jews: https://pflag.org/resource/faith-resources-for-jews/ 

Muslim

• Association of Muslim Chaplains is a professional organization for Muslim chaplains that has information on how they can work in military chaplainship: https://www.associationofmuslimchaplains.org/islamic-chaplaincy 
• Muslim Alliance for Sexual and Gender Diversity works to support, empower, and connect LGBTQ+ Muslims: https://www.themasgd.org/ 
• PFLAG’s list of Muslim LGBTQ+ resources include organizations and programs focused on supporting the LGBTQ+ Muslim community: https://pflag.org/resource/faith-resources-for-muslims/ 

Interfaith/Other Faiths

• PFLAG’s list of interfaith/non-denominational LGBTQ+ resources features a variety of broad and interfaith/non-denominational organizations and resources for the LGBTQ+ community: https://pflag.org/resource/faith-resources-for-interfaith-non-denominational-communities/ 
• PFLAG’s non-Judeo-Christian/Abrahamic denomination LGBTQ+ resources include resources for members of other faith traditions, such as Jehovah’s Witnesses, Quakers, Latter-Day Saints, Hindus, Buddhists, or others to find acceptance and community: https://pflag.org/resource/faith-resources-for-non-judeo-christian-abrahamic-denominations/ 

Sikh

• The Sikh Coalition fights against discrimination that often prevents Sikhs from serving in the military. It has successfully helped a number of recruits and service members gain religious accommodations to wear turbans and have unshorn hair and facial hair. However, much discrimination persists, so they work on improving laws and policies, while also directly assisting those who are impacted: https://www.sikhcoalition.org/our-work/ending-employment-discrimination/sikhs-in-the-u-s-armed-forces/ 

Unitarian Universalist

• The Unitarian Universalist official website has a page focused on their military ministry, where the military community can find a congregation near them: https://www.uua.org/beliefs/get-involved/where/military