Since being appointed by President Trump, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has stirred up controversy for his vocal campaign against diversity in the U.S. military. This time, the defense secretary appears to be targeting religious pluralism, slashing the number of religious faiths that are officially recognized by the armed services. The move has even drawn significant backlash from one member of Congress who feels that his faith has been singled out by the new policy.
Defense Department slashes recognized religions from 211 to 31
The Department of Defense recently issued a memo changing the list of religious faiths officially recognized by the U.S. military. The memo cuts the list of recognized faiths from 211 to only 31.
The memo was signed by Anthony Tata, under secretary of defense for personnel and readiness, one of the top officials within the Department of Defense, which the Trump administration has attempted to relabel the Department of War.
In the memo, Tata says that he is acting on Hegseth’s orders to “streamline the DoW collection of religious preferences collection for service members to enhance the delivery of targeted religious support from the Chaplaincy.”
The revised list removes a number of previously recognized faiths, such as Atheists, Deists, Druids, Eckankar, Heathens, Humanists, New Age churches, Pagans, Shamans, Spiritualists, Unitarian Universalists and Wiccans.
The remaining 31 faiths include mostly Christian denominations, as well as Agnostic, Baha’i Faith, Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism and Sikhism, along with two categories for “no religion” or “other religions.”
‘A middle finger’ to the Constitution
Critics of the new regulations accuse them of violating the First Amendment’s guarantees of religious freedom and prohibition against state establishment of religion.
Mikey Weinstein, the co-founder and president of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, said in a press release that the new policy was a “middle finger to the United States Constitution’s separation of church and state.”
He characterized the change from 211 recognized religions to 31 as “another absolute, clear, filthy and disgusting, unconstitutional, immoral and unethical attempt to force only the approved solution, getting closer and closer to Christian nationalism.”
A former military chaplain, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Military.com that the list was “an excuse for the failure to provide the free exercise of religion for all people.”
The former chaplain described the change as “a tragedy and travesty, absolutely,” saying, “As far as I’m concerned, that’s a violation of the United States Constitution.”
Republican senators object to relabeling of Mormon Church
While the reduction of religious faiths has alarmed advocates for religious freedom, the new list is also drawing controversy for how it lists one of the faiths that remain recognized.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also known as the Mormon Church, is included on the new list, but it is not listed as a “Christian” denomination, while the Catholic, Orthodox and various Protestant churches maintain the Christian label.
This has angered many Mormons, who feel their faith is being unfairly mislabeled in a way that harkens back to earlier persecution against Mormonism, a religious tradition that has its roots in the 19th-century teachings of American religious leader Joseph Smith.
Republican Utah Sens. Mike Lee and John Curtis, both members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who represent a state that is predominantly Mormon, have vocally objected to the change.
Lee, who has posted dozens of times on social media about the change, calls the labeling “offensive” and “repugnant to any sense of decency and any sense of our common heritage and our common belief that the government needs to not weigh in on doctrinal disputes between various religious denominations.”
Lee has called on Hegseth and the Pentagon to change the policy and has claimed to have spoken directly to President Trump about “the Pentagon’s ‘Christian List.’”
Since taking over at the Pentagon, Hegseth has launched a campaign against diversity, seemingly targeting Black people and other minorities as well as women. Now, his efforts appear to be attempting to promote a much narrower vision of religious diversity as well, drawing rebukes from religious freedom advocates and even members of his own party.
