A new national policy in Canada forbids military personnel, including chaplains, from making references to God or any religious tradition at public events, prompting objections from the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada (EFC). The Department of National Defense on July 26 issued personnel instructions titled “Spiritual Reflections in Military Settings” that bars faith-specific language and references to God during official public and semi-public ceremonies where personnel attendance is mandatory. The directive replaces traditional prayers with neutral “spiritual reflections” at mandatory functions like graduation parades and change-of-command ceremonies. The Canadian Armed Forces designed the 2023 policy to make spiritual reflections as inclusive as possible. Defense officials based the policy partly on Supreme Court of Canada rulings regarding state neutrality, according to the EFC.