President Bush signed an executive order in June 2004 directing the Veterans Administration to establish a faith-based initiative for the treatment of its patients. The VA provides medical services by physicians, nurses, counselors, and others to veterans, through a nationwide network of more than 157 hospitals and nearly 870 out-patient clinics.  The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs now integrates chaplain ministries into medical treatment protocols, a huge leap from having chaplains on call to minister to those who request their services. 

The VA expects chaplains to be involved as part of the medical team for all patients.  Each patient receives within 24 hours of their admission into the VA medical system a mandatory "spiritual assessment", including belief about the nature of God and His role in their recovery.  Chaplains determine if there is a "spiritual injury" and need for pastoral intervention.  Patients are taught prayers for various situations including Prayers for Our Nation in Conflict, Prayer as a Vigil of Hope, Prayer for Our Servicemen and Women, and Prayer in Time of War. Patient records contain a "spiritual injuries diagnosis" that becomes part of the veteran's health care records.  Patient records include every pastoral assessment, sacramental ministry and chaplain contact. 

George Bush’s program unequivocally imposes big government theocratic dogma on American citizens.  It comes at the behest of the religious right who are essentially fundamentalist Christians, Bush’s voter base.  Never mind that this is a major invasion of a patient's privacy or that the theological issues raised are issues over which multitudes have died in religious wars.  This use of tax dollars for government-imposed VA chaplain services clearly violates the First Amendment prohibition of government “establishment of religion.”  This action is an in-your-face contemptuousness for the Constitution George Bush swore to uphold.

Contrast this interjection of spirituality and prayer with the recent Mayo Clinic study of more than 1,800 patients who underwent heart bypass surgery in six U.S. hospitals.  The study showed that prayers failed to have any impact on the patient’s recovery.  The study found some of the patients who knew they were the recipient of prayer did worse than others who were told they might be recipients of prayer.

The patients in the study included 604 who were actually prayed for after being told they might or might not be.  Another 597 patients were not prayed for after being told they might or might not be.  A group of 601 patients were prayed for and told they would be recipients of prayer.  Among the first group who were prayed for but only told they might be, 52 percent had post-surgical complications compared to 51 percent in the second group, i.e., the ones who were not prayed for though told they might be. In the third group, who knew they were being prayed for, a higher 59 percent had complications.

"Intercessory prayer itself had no effect on whether complications occurred.  Patients who were certain that intercessors would pray for them had a higher rate of complications than patients who were uncertain but did receive intercessory prayer," the Mayo study said.

Consider Bush’s faith based initiatives relative to the recent West Virginia mine disaster. When people thought there were going to be survivors, church bells rang, God was praised, songs were sung and cheering ensued. Many believers proclaimed "God is always there," "Never underestimate the power of prayer" and "Thank you Jesus!”  When news of loss of 12 miners finally reached family members, their reaction was anger at the mining company and the news media, not that God had failed them. God was thanked for saving the sole survivor. One survivor out of 13 is a 92% failure rate — not too impressive.

Thanks to President Bush’s faith-based initiatives medical science is now reduced to equal footing with the highly subjective un-provable, unpredictable concept of spirituality.  The so-called “limited government” ideal of Republicanism has been high-jacked by big government theocrats.  They consider it their duty to interject their theology into the lives of vulnerable veterans in need of objective science-based medical treatment.  The defenseless veteran is forced to cooperate with religious imposition.  His/her medical records will chronicle agreement or disagreement.  And the American taxpayer has the privilege of paying the bill for the thousands of newly hired ministerial staff to execute this travesty.

President Bush’s “faith-based initiatives” turn out to be religious right strategies that downplay modernity’s progress in order to elevate religious superstition.   Constitutional principles be damned.  To quote President Bush, “God Bless!”

© Copyright 2006 by AxisofLogic.com

Lee Salisbury is an Axis of Logic Columnist and also the founder of the Critical Thinking Clubs of Minnesota in the United States. Read more of his essays and his biography on Axis of Logic.