The Pentagon updated its list of verified religious affiliations that US service members can identify with, and removed Christian as a classification for several religious groups, including the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
This week, the Defense Department slashed the list of formalized religious categories that personnel can identify as down to 31. Over 20 of those 31 categories were listed as Christian.
In protest of the list, Utah Senator Mike Lee, who identifies as a member of the Mormon church, criticized it in a video posted on X.
“I think it’s very unfortunate that the Pentagon has chosen to identify basically every faith group in America that professes faith in Jesus Christ as Christian, with one exception: that is those belonging to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,” he said.
“I find this offensive, not just because that happens to be my faith and not just because it happens to be the faith of tens of thousands of US military personnel, but it’s also just repugnant to any sense of decency, 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,” he added.
Pentagon shortens list of Christian groups, initially excludes Mormons
The Pentagon released the revised list on Monday, following the backlash to the original registry. No religious group was classified as Christian in the new list.
“The Pentagon’s job is not to adjudicate theological debates, but instead to ensure sincerely-held faith is respected and encouraged in our ranks,” the Pentagon’s rapid response account stated in a post on X/Twitter.
Sean Parnell, a Pentagon spokesperson, announced last week that they had removed 180 recognized religious classifications, citing an “unmanageable” amount of faith groups.
“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,” the statement said.
“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.”
Hegseth receives backlash for handling of religion in the military
Earlier this year, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth spoke on the Pentagon’s intention to shorten the list and completely scrap the army’s spiritual fitness guide.
Hegseth has stated that the US military’s spiritual and religious services are too focused on self-care and should be more focused on “truth”.
Hegseth’s handling of religion in the military has been criticized repeatedly. He has pressed chaplains to preach more about scripture than psychology, and also hosts monthly evangelical Christian worship services that have raised legal questions from experts.
Hegseth has also faced criticism for inviting pastors from his small Christian denomination to preach at the Pentagon, including one pastor who has stated that women shouldn’t have the right to vote.
Source:
www.jpost.com
