Chaplaincies

Chaplaincies are the offices and communities served by chaplains—spiritual care providers who offer religious support within secular institutions and in military contexts. A chaplain may be ordained clergy or a lay person endorsed by a religious body, and may carry different job titles depending on the setting. Chaplains are tasked with providing pastoral care, facilitating worship and rites, counseling, crisis intervention, ethical guidance, and acting as liaisons across faith communities.

Contexts for chaplaincies include military chaplaincies in armies, navies, and air forces; hospital chaplaincies supporting patients, families, and staff; university chaplaincies offering spiritual programs and counseling; prison chaplaincies; and chaplaincies in disaster response and other community organizations. In many countries, chaplaincies exist within airports, police, fire services, and corporate or nonprofit settings as part of broader programs of spiritual care and ethical support.

Training and professionalization: chaplains usually have theological education; many pursue seminary degrees. In healthcare and some other settings, clinical pastoral education and professional certification are common. Accreditation and membership in national or regional chaplaincy associations are common ways to organize qualifications, standards, and continuing education.

History and governance: modern chaplaincy has roots in ancient and medieval religious roles, but formal military chaplaincies developed in the early modern period. Hospitals, universities, and prisons adopted chaplaincy roles during the 19th and 20th centuries, and today chaplaincies exist in many countries, reflecting a range of religious traditions and, in some cases, secular sponsorship coupled with interfaith or interreligious care.