The Department of Defense — which is poised to slash its number of officially recognized faith affiliations from more than 200 to just 31 — updated its classifications following criticism from Republican lawmakers over its omission of The Church of Jesus Christ Latter-day Saints from the Christian category.
Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, a close ally of President Donald Trump, says he raised the issue directly with the president, arguing that the government should not be involved in adjudicating doctrinal disputes among faith traditions.
Two more Republicans from Utah — Sen. John Curtis and Rep. Mike Kennedy — also urged Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to amend the list for the same reason.
The Pentagon subsequently announced on Monday that it had removed “unnecessary labeling, and the mistake has been fixed.”
The new “Religious Affiliation Codes” no longer features the subheading gathering together Christian denominations, thus sidestepping the contentious issue of whether to include or exclude Mormonism.
Instead, it provides a long list of uncategorized options, including the previous Christian denominations; the Church of Latter-day Saints; other major religions like Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism and Sikhism; and classifications of Agnostic, “no religion,” and “other religions.”
According to a May 20 memorandum signed by Under Secretary of Defense Anthony Tata, the list will provide chaplains with “clear, readily available information” to better anticipate the religious needs of service members and to deliver religious support consistent with their faith and practices.
Sean Parnell, a Pentagon spokesman, described the original shift as “long overdue,” saying that the consolidation is intended to improve administrative efficiency rather than elevate certain religions over others.
“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,” Parnell said in a statement on Friday. “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.”
Troops will not be restricted, however, in what information they choose to include on their dog tags.
When previewing the new policy in March, Hegseth said that the rank insignia worn by military chaplains on their uniforms is set to be replaced with religious insignia. He emphasized chaplains are “first and foremost called and ordained by God,” and, while they will retain rank as an officer to those they serve, their rank will not be visible.
The changes are expected to take effect by mid-July.
Tanya Noury is a reporter for Military Times and Defense News, with coverage focusing on the White House and Pentagon.