Pentagon updates religious codes after criticism from Mormons

The Pentagon connected Monday updated its spiritual affiliation codes aft members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints criticized the database due to the fact that it did not picture LDS arsenic a "Christian" faith. 

On Friday, the Pentagon chopped the fig of spiritual affiliation codes from implicit 200 to 31 to assistance subject chaplains streamline spiritual enactment services. The 31 codes included the Church of Latter-day Saints – but not arsenic 1 of the 21 religions described arsenic "Christian," which angered members of the LDS community, including Republican Sens. John Curtis and Mike Lee of Utah. 

 "It is unacceptable for a authorities entity to qualify a religion successful a mode that contradicts the religion's ain foundational tenets," Curtis wrote connected X connected Saturday. 

The Pentagon released a caller database Monday day that removed the "Christian" descriptor from different religions and provided conscionable the codification and the sanction of the spiritual faiths.

In a statement, the Pentagon said the database from Friday, which was posted on X to the public by main Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell, included "redundant and unnecessary labeling, and the mistake has been fixed."

"In bid to clarify the enactment of chaplains, and simplify the enactment of commanders, the Pentagon has consolidated and simplified the database to astir 30 codes – utilizing the antecedently utilized labels for faiths," the Monday connection said. "The Pentagon's occupation is not to adjudicate theological debates, but to guarantee sincerely-held religion is respected and encouraged successful our ranks." 

In effect to the statement, Lee posted connected X, "I hold with this statement, and americium grateful to [Secretary] Hegseth for correcting the error." 

Hegseth, who often invokes his Christian faith, began monthly voluntary supplication services aboriginal successful his tenure and has welcomed the Christian evangelical pastor Doug Wilson to speak. Wilson, whose beliefs see that it was a mistake to springiness women the close to vote, has argued Mormons are not Christian. 

In a video station from December, Wilson said, "Mormonism is not Christian. Not to enactment excessively good a constituent connected it – the Christian religion is monotheistic and Mormonism is polytheistic." The nonprofit civilian rights enactment FAIR, which supports the LDS Church, argued that is not existent – that the religion believes successful the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, not aggregate gods.  

On Sunday, earlier the Pentagon updated the list, Lee said the authorities should not measurement successful "on doctrinal disputes betwixt assorted spiritual denominations." 

Some of the different religions represented connected the database see Presbyterian, Quaker, Church of Christ, Christian (Non-Denominational), Catholic, Episcopal, Islam, Hindu, Sikh, and Judaism. 

The database is portion of Hegseth's effort to overhaul the Military Chaplain Corps that helium announced successful December. His extremity is to make "a apical down taste shift, putting spiritual wellbeing connected the aforesaid footing arsenic intelligence and carnal health." Amid this effort, the U.S. Army Chief of Chaplains Major Gen. William Green Jr. was fired from his presumption successful April. 

Hegseth initially announced the database of codes would beryllium trimmed from implicit 200 to conscionable 31 backmost successful March aft helium said an interior reappraisal committee determined the astir 30 codes were the astir utilized by work members, but the Pentagon didn't merchandise the database publically until Friday. 

The codes are shown below: