While numerous courts have ruled that chaplaincy programs in prisons, legislatures, and the military do not run afoul of the First Amendment, the same cannot yet be said for such programs in police departments.

Where the governmental activity amounts to an endorsement of any religion, or restriction on religious practices, courts generally find a violation of the “Establishment Clause” of the First Amendment. State and federal courts have recognized that chaplaincy is one area in which the Free Exercise of Religion rights of affected prisoners and military personnel outweigh any potential Establishment Clause violation. Since the U.S. Congress had chaplains before, during, and after the Constitution and Bill of Rights were adopted, the courts have rebuffed efforts to find such use of government funds unconstitutional. However, the same cannot be said of police departments. Unless and until the U.S. Supreme Court issues a decision involving a police agency, chiefs run the risk that a department’s chaplaincy program may be found to violate the “separation of church and state” doctrine.