Pentagon Reduces Religious Designations List From More Than 200 Categories to 31
The revised list keeps 31 faith categories and officials say it will help chaplains better assess unit needs and allocate resources.
- War Secretary Pete Hegseth initiated the revision, calling the previous system "impractical and unusable" because most military personnel identified with only six faith categories and many codes were never used.
- The 31 recognized faiths include Christians, Buddhists, Jews, Muslims, and Sikhs. Alongside the reduction, the Pentagon directed chaplains to replace officer rank insignia with religious symbols.
- Retired Gen. Steve Schaick warned that chaplains serving smaller faiths may lose legitimacy, while critic Mehta said the list appears made by "Christian nationalists who have no awareness of the world that exists outside their bubble.
42 Articles
42 Articles
Pentagon Cuts List of Faiths Troops Can Choose From
The Department of Defense announced on Friday a significant reduction in the number of religious affiliations it officially recognizes. The new list of 31 is down from more than 200 previously recognized traditions that troops could choose from. The list no longer includes atheists, Unitarian Universalists, pagans, or Wiccans, the...
Associated Press News
Defense Department slashes its religious designations list from more than 200 choices to 31
The Defense Department has announced a significant reduction in the number of religious affiliations it officially recognizes.
FFRF calls out Pentagon for sidelining ‘atheists in foxholes’ and others
FFRF Lifetime Member Joseph Cunningham, a veteran who served in World War II, standing beside FFRF’s monument to “atheists in foxholes and other freethinkers.” Maintaining that there are indeed many “atheists in foxholes,” the Freedom From Religion Foundation is condemning a sweeping Pentagon directive that eliminates recognition for approximately 180 religious and nonreligious belief systems, including “atheist.” According to a May 20 memorandu…
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