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The concept of strategic communications as a war-fighting tool, the definition of which is stillbeing debated by U.S. policy and military leaders, has come to the fore in the first decade of the21 st century, as U.S. forces sought to first overthrow Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, then pacify theethnically and religiously fractious nation-state by trying to create stable democratic institutions,in a campaign that has proven much more costly and bloody than originally foreseen. Faced withboth international criticism and dissent at home, integrating communications is now seen as key toeffective military strategy and tactics, with a premium placed on its being inserted at an early stateinto the policy development process. From there, “stratcomm” is supposed to accompany the policiesthat are developed as they are translated into concrete action—all the way to the battlefield, andbeyond, to post-conflict scenarios such as peacekeeping and stability operations. 16Ironically, strategic communication can be seen as the decanted essence of religious dogma. Ithas “its roots in the true and classic meaning” of “propaganda,” a word whose etymology is tracedto Gregory XV, the Catholic pope who in 1622 created the Sacred Congregation for the Propagationof the Faith as part of the Roman curia. Its mission was to, in Latin, “propagare” Catholic doctrine,a spreading of the word whose English derivatives include “propagate” and “propaganda.”Unfortunately, with the advent of World War II and the “Big Lie” techniques of the German Nazis, theword propaganda was discredited and no longer meant the mere use of accurate, factual informationto buttress one’s case. 17It is no accident that military chaplains have played the role that is now ascribed to the realmof strategic communications. As one respected communications expert has noted: “Successfulstrategic communications assumes a defensible policy, a respectable identity, a core value.” 18 Carefulexamination of the role played by military chaplains in the United States and other countries showsthat wartime policies tend to be seen as more defensible when advocated by people of the cloth,whose very identity is seen by large sectors of the population as both respectable and intrinsicallyvalue-laden.Among the issues that will be examined in this paper are a comparative look at the role playedby military chaplainry in other countries throughout history, as well as the strategic communicationsroles played by the U.S. military chaplains in the Civil War; in a major government policy initiative(the establishment of character education in the U.S. Army in the period 1947-1977), and as a resultof the relationship between the U.S. military and the Catholic Church during World War I and WorldWar II.The Roads Leading to Military Chaplaincy and Strategic Communication AbroadThe question about whether military chaplains’ role is in war largely to boost soldiers’ morale—“tofight hard and face death bravely” in the service of king and commander, advancing the cause ofvictory—or to act as spiritual counselors, tending to their individual needs, dates almost to the verybeginnings of the profession. The Five Books of Moses makes reference to priests joining troopsinto battle: “And it shall be when you are come nigh unto battle that the priest shall approach andspeak unto the people” (Deut. 20:2-4). Although the earliest roots of military chaplainry date toancient Rome or even before, over time chaplains became “particularly important in combat becausethe idea of the chaplain is both to bring the blessing of the God or the gods to the cause of the army,but also to strengthen the fighting power, the morale, of individual soldiers and of providing thesacrament to soldiers who were prepared to kill other people. … And also soldiers who are risking16See, for example, Chaplain William Sean Lee, Col. Christopher J. Burke, and Col. Zonna M. Crayne, Military Chaplains as Peace Builders;17Embracing Indigenous Religions in Stability Operations (Maxwell Air ForceBase: Air University Press, 2004).17Halloran, op. cit., p. 2.18Ibid, p. 3.118Security and Defense Studies Review 2009/Edición 2009/ Edicão 2009/ Volume 9, Issues 1 & 2