U.S. Department of Defense Reduces Recognized Religious Affiliations

The U.S. Department of Defense announced a significant reduction in the number of officially recognized religious affiliations, lowering the list from over 200 to 31. Previously included groups such as atheists, unitary universalists, pagans, and wiccans are now excluded.

This reduction is not meant to question the legitimacy of any faith nor does it attempt to provide a list of ‘officially approved’ religions, stated Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell.

Instead, the list is designed to help chaplains quickly understand the religious composition of their units and allocate resources more effectively to support service members of various faiths. Parnell emphasized the value placed on the free exercise of religion and the role of chaplains in enabling military personnel to freely practice their chosen religion or none at all.

The revised list consolidates some Christian traditions like baptist, presbyterian, and methodist into broad categories without specifying denominations, which may encompass a wide theological and ideological spectrum. Service members can choose to identify as ‘no religion’, ‘other religions’, or agnostics. The list includes Buddhism, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, Sikhism, the Bahá’í faith, and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The Universalist Unitarian Association, removed from the list, expressed concern about the potential difficulty their members in uniform may face in accessing necessary spiritual care. They indicated efforts to develop a strategic response to support their service members.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, known for his evangelical Christian beliefs, introduced the changes in December, describing the previous number of faith codes as cumbersome. Reverend Paul Raushenbush of the Interfaith Alliance criticized the move, stating that the First Amendment prohibits the government from establishing a hierarchy of faiths.

The U.S. military is religiously diverse, with nearly 70% of troops identifying as Christian according to a 2019 Congressional report. Around a quarter of troops are categorized as other, unclassified, or unknown faiths.

Irene Glasse, a pagan religious professional and Marine Corps veteran, emphasized the importance of recognition for minority religions, pointing out their significant contributions to the military.

This report was supported by the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, funded by Lilly Endowment Inc. The Associated Press bears sole responsibility for this content.