Pentagon Defends Cut to 31 Religions as Hegseth Targets 'Political Correctness'
Updated
Updated · Salt Lake Tribune · Jun 6
Pentagon Defends Cut to 31 Religions as Hegseth Targets 'Political Correctness'
3 articles · Updated · Salt Lake Tribune · Jun 6
Summary
31 official religions now remain on the Defense Department’s list after a sharp reduction from more than 200, with Hegseth casting the move as part of a purge of “political correctness and secular humanism” from the Chaplain Corps.
Latter-day Saints stayed on the list, but the revised categories appear to treat the Utah-based faith separately from Christian designations, underscoring how the overhaul reshaped the department’s religious classifications.
The change, effective Friday, removed identities including atheists, Unitarian Universalists, pagans and Wiccans; affected personnel are directed to select “no religion” or “other religions.”
Pentagon officials have framed the overhaul as an administrative simplification for chaplains, while critics say cutting roughly 180 designations sidelines minority faiths and nonreligious service members.