The Pentagon has slashed its list of religious affiliation codes for service members from more than 200 down to 31. The military is striving to make it easier for chaplains to understand the spiritual needs of their units and provide better support.
The change, spelled out in a May 20 memorandum from Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness Anthony J. Tata, follows directions from Secretary of War Pete Hegseth.
Pentagon Streamlines Religious Affiliation System
In a statement issued on Friday, June 5, Defense Department spokesperson Sean Parnell said the old system had grown bloated and impractical over the years. Many of the categories were rarely used, while a handful covered the vast majority of troops.
“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 Pentagon’s announcement stated.
“Rather, it is designed to allow chaplains to quickly look at the religious composition of their units and determine how they structure resources.”
The new streamlined list includes major categories such as Protestant denominations, Catholicism, Agnosticism, Atheism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Sikhism, No Religion, and Other Religions.
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Specific, smaller faiths, such as certain Pagan, Wiccan, Druid, and Asatru options, have been consolidated or dropped from the official coding system.
Hegseth first floated the idea back in March as part of a bigger push to strengthen the Chaplain Corps. In a video message, he noted that 82% of service members identify as religious and that most rely on just a few main codes.
The old setup with over 200 options had become “impractical and unusable,” he said.
The goal is better data for chaplains on the ground, who can use clearer numbers to plan services, allocate time, and ensure troops from different backgrounds receive the spiritual care they need.
Chaplains play a key role in supporting morale and the free exercise of religion across the force.
Concerns Emerge Over Representation of Minority Faiths
The memo noted that the update does not limit what troops can put on their dog tags. Service members can still identify their faith; however, they choose personal items.
The codes primarily support in-house tracking and planning for religious support programs.
However, some advocates for minority faiths worry the change could sideline smaller religious communities.
Groups that tracked Pagan or other non-traditional beliefs have raised concerns that dropping specific codes might reduce visibility and access to customized support.
Pentagon officials say that the “Other Religions” category and chaplains’ training should cover those needs without the administrative headache of hundreds of rarely used entries.
Sean Parnell says the update returns the system to its original purpose. When the detailed faith codes were first expanded years ago, the idea was to capture the diversity of the force.
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But over time, the list ballooned as more specific beliefs were added, many of which saw little or no usage among active-duty personnel, reservists, or civilians working for the department.
Military.com obtained a copy of Tata’s memo, which gave the services 60 days to update their systems. Implementation is already underway.
Pentagon insists the First Amendment remains front and center. “The Department of War places a high value on the First Amendment and the free exercise of religion,” the announcement said. Chaplains exist to help all service members, whether they follow a major faith, a minority tradition, or no faith at all.
Pentagon revealed that the change affects how the military collects and reports religious preference data, but it does not force anyone to change their individual beliefs or limit worship options.
Services will continue to accommodate requests for specific accommodations as they always have, through the chaplain network and equal opportunity channels.
