Pete Hegseth Faces Bipartisan Criticism Over Pentagon's Religious Classification Change

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's decision to classify the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) separately from other Christian denominations in the Pentagon's new religion classification system has drawn criticism from both Republican and Democratic lawmakers. The change has been described as a mistake by various officials, including Senator John Curtis (R-UT), who stated he is working to reverse it, and Representative Celeste Maloy (R-UT), who emphasized that members of the LDS Church are Christians. Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) questioned the exclusion of the LDS Church from the Christian category, while Senator Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) expressed support for fixing the classification. The Pentagon's new system, announced by Hegseth's assistant Sean Parnell, aims to streamline religious support for service members by reducing categories from over 200 to 31. However, the classification of LDS as a standalone category has sparked debate about its implications for religious recognition within the military.