The 1951 Manual for Courts-Martial contains language which many today will find either quaint or fondly remembered.

 Articles of War , Section 7 :

  [d] DIVINE SERVICE. The commanders of vessels and naval activities to which chaplains are attached shall cause divine service to be performed on Sunday, whenever the weather and other circumstances allow it to be done; and it is earnestly recommended to officers, seamen, and others in the naval service diligently to attend at every performance of the worship of Almighty God.

  [e] REVERENT BEHAVIOR.   All persons in the Navy are enjoined to behave themselves in a reverent and becoming manner during divine service.

  Today’s world is far different. A recent Military TIMES article announced that the Army will soon officially acknowledge Humanism as a religious/spiritual preference.  Humanists thus join Muslim, Hindu, Jewish, Buddhist , and Wiccan adherents as officially recognized faith groups, alongside believers in various Christian denominations.

We were recently aboard an aircraft carrier defending an administrative separation case. The ship’s chapel wall indicated lay leaders aboard ship for several of the above named groups.

 Quite a far cry from virtually mandating chapel attendance  back in 1951 “at every performance of the worship of Almighty God.”