10 USC § 8221 - Chaplains: divine services

---
identifier: "/us/usc/t10/s8221"
source: "usc"
legal_status: "official_legal_evidence"
title: "10 USC § 8221 - Chaplains: divine services"
title_number: 10
title_name: "ARMED FORCES"
section_number: "8221"
section_name: "Chaplains: divine services"
chapter_number: 825
chapter_name: "ADMINISTRATION"
part_number: "II"
part_name: "PERSONNEL"
positive_law: true
currency: "119-84"
last_updated: "2026-04-17"
format_version: "1.1.0"
generator: "[email protected]"
source_credit: "(Aug. 10, 1956, ch. 1041, 70A Stat. 378, § 6031; Pub. L. 86–140, Aug. 7, 1959, 73 Stat. 288; renumbered § 8221, Pub. L. 115–232, div. A, title VIII, § 807(b)(7), Aug. 13, 2018, 132 Stat. 1834.)"
---


# § 8221. Chaplains: divine services

**(a)** An officer in the Chaplain Corps may conduct public worship according to the manner and forms of the church of which he is a member.

**(b)** 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 all officers, seamen, and others in the naval service diligently to attend at every performance of the worship of Almighty God.

**(c)** All persons in the Navy and in the Marine Corps are enjoined to behave themselves in a reverent and becoming manner during divine service.

---

**Source Credit**: (Aug. 10, 1956, ch. 1041, 70A Stat. 378, § 6031; Pub. L. 86–140, Aug. 7, 1959, 73 Stat. 288; renumbered § 8221, Pub. L. 115–232, div. A, title VIII, § 807(b)(7), Aug. 13, 2018, 132 Stat. 1834.)

| Revised section | Source (U.S. Code) | Source (Statutes at Large) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 6031(a) | 34 U.S.C. 95. | R.S. 1397. |
| 6031(b) | 34 U.S.C. 266 (1st sentence). | May 5, 1950, ch. 169, § 7(d), 64 Stat. 146. |
| 6031(c) | 34 U.S.C. 266 (2d sentence). | May 5, 1950, ch. 169, § 7(e), 64 Stat. 146. |
| 6031(d) | 34 U.S.C. 96. | R.S. 1398. |

In subsection (c) the words “and in the Marine Corps” are added to execute the definition of “Navy” in section 1, article 1, of the , .

## Editorial Notes

### Prior Provisions

A prior section 8221, ct , , related to authorized strength of Air Force Reserve, prior to repeal by , , . See .

### Amendments

2018— renumbered  as this section.

1959—Subsec. (d).  repealed subsec. (d) which required each chaplain to report annually to the Secretary of the Navy the official services performed by him.

## Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

### Effective Date of 2018 Amendment

Amendment by  effective , with provision for the coordination of amendments and special rule for certain redesignations, see , set out as a note preceding .