Wednesday will be the first Remembrance Day under a formal Canadian Armed Forces order that bars military chaplains from praying at official ceremonies. A chaplain asked to pray at one must give a “spiritual reflection” instead, with no mention of God.

Until this summer, the rule was a 2023 directive from the military’s top chaplain. On July 29, the Canadian Armed Forces replaced that directive with Military Personnel Instruction 03/26. The new order was approved by the Commander of Military Personnel Command, and it reaches much further than the old rule.

“This instruction applies to all Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) members,” the order states. The rules cover official events that Armed Forces members are expected or required to attend and explicitly list Remembrance Day events as an example of where the ban applies.

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Despite the Canadians who will be singing “God keep our land” during national anthems at Remembrance Day events, military chaplains asked to pray are ordered to “not use religious-specific language” and “instead offer a spiritual reflection.”

The prayer rules came up in the House of Commons on Nov. 2, while MPs debated a Conservative motion on federal procurement. According to Canadian Catholic News, Alberta MP Blake Richards told the House, “They have taken away the ability for prayer at Remembrance Day services.” Liberal MP Kevin Lamoureux responded by claiming that no chaplains had raised the issue with him, but said he would be “more than happy to have that discussion personally with them.”

The order carves out some exceptions. It leaves funerals out entirely, stating, “Funeral ceremonies are not considered to be public military ceremonies for the purposes of this policy.”

Weekly worship, counselling and religious rites are unaffected, and a reflection can leave a moment for people to pray privately… for now.

For faith groups that work with the military, those exceptions don’t go far enough. Bruce Clemenger, a member of the Interfaith Committee on Canadian Military Chaplaincy, said in a statement from the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada, “This policy goes beyond banning prayer and prohibits even the acknowledgment to those gathered.”