Pentagon Removes 180 Faiths from Military's Recognized Religions List

The Department of War has removed 180 faiths from its list of recognized religions, as announced by War Secretary Pete Hegseth. The U.S. Military Chaplain Corps previously recognized over 200 faith codes, which has now been reduced to 31, according to a memo from Undersecretary of Defense Anthony Tata. The memo states that this change aims to streamline the collection of religious preferences among service members to improve the delivery of targeted religious support from the Chaplaincy. The updated list includes faiths such as Agnostics, Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims, Judaism, Sikhs, and various Christian denominations. Hegseth noted that the previous system had become impractical, with many codes rarely used. Additionally, the Pentagon has instructed chaplains to replace their rank insignia with their religious insignia, emphasizing their primary role as chaplains over their officer status.