The Pentagon has defended its new policy simplifying religious affiliation after receiving criticism from several Republicans. The shift aligned with directives from War Secretary Pete Hegseth, which “streamline the DoW collection of religious preferences collection for service members to enhance the delivery of targeted religious support from the Chaplaincy,” a memo obtained by Military.com explained.
The revised list includes groups such as Agnostics, Buddhists, Hindus, Islam (Muslims), Judaism, Sikhs, and a number of Christian denominations, but excludes worldviews such as paganism, Wicca, New Age beliefs, and others, the report says. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was not included as a Christian denomination.
Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) questioned the shift, writing on social media, If only we, as Latter-day Saints, belonged to a church that had ‘Jesus Christ’ in its name and His image in its logo … Oh wait.”
Senator John Curtis (R-UT) condemned the decision, calling Mormons “among the most patriotic, service-oriented individuals in our country. They are also unequivocally Christian—just look at who is in the name of the Church.”
“It is unacceptable for a government entity to characterize a faith in a manner that contradicts the religion’s own foundational tenets,” he said. “I am working now to ensure a correction is made.”
Similarly, Rep. Celeste Maloy (R-UT) said, in part, “Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are Christians. We worship Jesus Christ, strive to follow His teachings, and His name is even in the name of our Church. Just last year, President Trump himself recognized Latter-day Saints as Christians.”
“As we learn more about the reasoning behind this change, I look forward to having conversations that will ensure all service members receive the religious support and First Amendment protections they deserve.”
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell defended the new policy, saying, “This decrease in religious affiliation codes is not designed to make any claims on the legitimacy of any faith or religious belief, nor is it intended to provide a list of ‘officially approved’ religions. Rather, it is designed to allow chaplains to quickly look at the religious composition of their units and determine how they structure resources to best provide for warfighters of all faith groups.”
