DOD Officially Drops 180 Faiths From Military's Recognized Religion List

Military.com has learned that the Department of Defense, for the first time in almost 10 years, has dramatically reduced its number of recognized religious faiths and belief systems by approximately 180. The reforms mark the first time the list has been officially revised since a memo was issued March 27, 2017, decreasing the total number of faiths from 211 to its new number of 31. The changes were iterated in a May 20, 2026, memorandum issued by the Under Secretary of War and signed by Anthony Tata, under secretary of defense for personnel and readiness of the United States, and obtained by Military.com. This latest revision to the faith codes comes at the direction of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, according to the Tata-signed memo, done to “streamline the DoW collection of religious preferences collection for service members to enhance the delivery of targeted religious support from the Chaplaincy.” It calls for the previously instituted faith and belief codes to be revised within a 60-day period from the issuance of the memorandum. “The new list will provide chaplains with clear, readily available information that will better enable them to anticipate the religious support needs of service members and to provide religious support activities that align with service members’ personal faith and practices,” Tata wrote. He added that members will not be limited to the list of “religious affiliation codes” when selecting information for their dog tags. The revised list, according to documents obtained by Military.com, includes Agnostics, Buddhists, Hindus, Islam (Muslims), Judaism, Sikh, and a wide range of Christian-based groups like Baptists, Catholics, Lutherans and Methodists. Here is the full list: Agnostic (AN) Baha'i faith (BH) Buddhism (BU) Christian - Assemblies of God (AG) Christian - Baptist (BA) Christian - Brethren (BR) Christian - Catholic (CA) Christian - Church of Christ (CC) Christian

- Church of God (CG) Christian - Church of the Nazarene (CN) Christian - Episcopal/Anglican (EA) Christian - Evangelical (EV) Christian - Jehovah's Witnesses (JW) Christian - Lutheran (LU) Christian - Methodist (ME) Christian - Non Denominational (ND) Christian - Orthodox (OX) Christian - Other (CO) Christian - Pentecostal (PE) Christian - Presbyterian (PR) Christian - Quaker (QU) Christian - Reformed (RE) Christian - Scientist (SC) Christian - Seventh Day Adventist (SA) Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (CJ) Hindu (HI) Islam (Muslim) (IS) Judaism (Jewish) (JU) No Religion (NR) Other Religions (OR) Sikh (SI) This restructuring of faith codes, which help identify service members as well as the military in planning for appropriated religious coverage to include them, has now excluded minority faith/worldview groups including Atheists, Asatru, Deists, Druids, Eckankar, Heathens, Humanists, Magick, New Age churches, Pagan, Rosicrucianism, Shaman, Spiritualists, Troth, Unitarian Universalists and various Wiccans.

President Donald Trump speaks during a Cabinet meeting at the White House, Wednesday, May 27, 2026, in Washington, as Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, looks on. (

AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) It represents a stark change from the memo administered in 2017, during President Donald Trump’s first term. The Armed Forces Chaplains Board at the time endorsed a faith and belief code expansion “to standardize and better identify religious preferences recognized by the military services.” That change at the time was said to better expand religious planning for multiple reasons, including better tracking for more accurate demographic data, better planning for religious support for the force, and providing a better assessment of the capabilities and requirements of each military service’s chaplain’s corps. Military.com reached out to the DOD, asking what led to the drastic change and removal of countless faiths and beliefs, in addition to whether any concern was expressed by either service members or chaplains. The department was also asked whether members’ lack of individual support could hurt morale within the ranks. The DOD did not respond to the inquiry. Larger Push, 'Cultural Shift' It follows a broader administrative push that critics have described as a military-wide ascent towards Christian theocracy, evidenced by Defense Secretary Pet Hegseth hosting Christian-based prayer services in the Pentagon auditorium with controversial speakers—as well as public statements invoking Scripture when describing the ongoing military operation in Iran, for example. In December 2025, Hegseth announced his intention “to make the Chaplain Corps great again,” prioritizing religious liberty and practice in the military by executing a “top-down cultural shift, putting spiritual well-being on the same footing as physical and mental health.” This latest action comes on the heels of Hegseth announcing chaplain reforms in March 2026. He said his department would be significantly streamlining the number of faith code affiliations for service members, including a separate but related change to replace rank insignia military chaplains wear on their work uniforms with religious insignia. The faith and belief coding system, renamed to "religious affiliation codes,” was simply due to a system that had become too big, according to the secretary. "The previous system had ballooned to well over 200 faith codes. … It was impractical and unusable, and many codes were never used at all," Hegseth said in March, adding that 82% of members who identify as religious use only six of the codes.

The secretary added that chaplains "are first and foremost called and ordained by God." 'Not the American Way' A former U.S. Army chaplain who now serves as an endorser told Military.com the revised list is “horrible.” “When I raised my hand to become an Army chaplain, I swore that I would support and defend the Constitution,” the individual, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told Military.com. “The First Amendment is the free exercise of religion for everybody. That's what I was buying into.” The individual said that oath years ago was never rescinded, which makes the new list “an excuse for the failure to provide the free exercise of religion for all people.” “That's a tragedy and travesty, absolutely,” they said. “As far as I'm concerned, that's a violation of the United States Constitution.” The individual said that in the Army chaplaincy, the prime directive is to perform or provide for the free exercise of religion of all service members and their families. Essentially, those who cannot be identified struggle to receive the help they may require.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks on screen during the Rededicate 250: A National Jubilee Of Prayer, Praise & Thanksgiving, Sunday, May 17, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.) They described it as a “not-so-hidden agenda.” “There's a lot of faith groups out there that I particularly don't have an interest in, but there are service members who are sending their sons and daughters into the military, and they're expecting pastoral care for their sons and daughters as needed—and I don't think they're going to get it. “All it takes is the chaplain to say, ‘Well, I don't see them on this list. I don't know how I can help you. Maybe go off the installation and see if you can find anybody who can work with you. Goodbye.' And that's it. That's not the American way.”