{"id":355,"date":"2026-06-08T21:08:19","date_gmt":"2026-06-08T21:08:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/northcarolinamovingjournal.com\/?p=355"},"modified":"2026-06-08T21:08:19","modified_gmt":"2026-06-08T21:08:19","slug":"dod-tweaks-organized-religion-list-after-complaints-of-latter-day-saints-snub","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/northcarolinamovingjournal.com\/?p=355","title":{"rendered":"DoD tweaks organized religion list after complaints of Latter-day Saints snub"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

WASHINGTON \u2014 The Pentagon changed course Monday after its removal of dozens of religious denominations from a list of recognized faiths drew intense criticism over the weekend from Utah Republicans incensed by the failure to classify the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as a Christian denomination.<\/p>\n

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U.S. Sen. Mike Lee, a member of the church widely known as the Mormon church, said the policy for military chaplains announced Friday was \u201coffensive\u201d and demanded the Pentagon reverse course, which the department did Monday afternoon.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s also just repugnant to any sense of decency, any sense of our common heritage and our common belief that the government needs to not weigh in on doctrinal disputes between various religious denominations,\u201d Lee, a Utah Republican, said in a\u00a0video statement posted to social media Sunday night.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo I\u2019m respectfully imploring the people at the Pentagon to reconsider this, not just reconsider but undo it,\u201d Lee continued. \u201cSecretary Hegseth: Tear down that wall. This is not cool.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hours later, Lee wrote on social media that he personally spoke to President Donald Trump on the phone about the \u201cPentagon\u2019s \u2018Christian list\u2019\u201d and told people to \u201cstay tuned.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI won\u2019t speak for him, but I\u2019m thrilled about where this is heading,\u201d Lee\u00a0wrote. \u201cWe\u2019re most fortunate that President Trump (1) loves Latter-day Saints, and (2) is our commander in chief.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

A spokesperson with Lee\u2019s office told States Newsroom Monday the senator received assurances from the administration that the issue will be resolved.<\/p>\n

Just after noon Eastern time Monday, the Pentagon pointed States Newsroom to a social media\u00a0post showing an updated list without the word \u201cChristian\u201d before any of the denominations.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Pentagon\u2019s job is not to adjudicate theological debates, but instead to ensure sincerely-held faith is respected and encouraged in our ranks,\u201d according to the post by an account with the handle \u201cDOW Rapid Response,\u201d using the acronym for the administration\u2019s preferred but unofficial name, Department of War.<\/p>\n

Sen. John Curtis, a Utah Republican, also spoke out on social media stating the church is \u201cunequivocally Christian.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is unacceptable for a government entity to characterize a faith in a manner that contradicts the religion\u2019s own foundational tenets,\u201d he\u00a0wrote Saturday.<\/p>\n

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A concern from lawmakers is that service members who belong to the Latter-day Saints may not receive services from a Christian chaplain.<\/p>\n

The issue places the Pentagon in the middle of a longtime theological dispute between Latter-day Saints, who believe in the divinity of Jesus Christ and consider themselves Christian, and some members of other Christian faiths who believe the Salt Lake City-based church should be viewed as outside of Christianity.<\/p>\n

Latter-day Saint church leaders declined to comment Monday.<\/p>\n

The White House pointed States Newsroom to the department\u2019s Monday afternoon social media announcement.<\/p>\n

Shorter list<\/h4>\n

Citing a two-page letter\u00a0posted to social media Friday, Parnell said the department was making a \u201clong overdue move\u201d to reduce the military chaplains\u2019 overall list of religious affiliations to 31, down from an \u201cunmanageable\u201d 200.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis 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 \u2018officially approved\u2019 religions. Rather, it is designed to allow chaplains to quickly look at the religious composition of their units and determine how they structure resources to best provide for warfighters of all faith groups,\u201d Parnell wrote.<\/p>\n

The list includes 21 separate Christian denominations, but lists the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints separately.<\/p>\n

\u2018Christian nationalist takeover\u2019<\/h4>\n

Criticism of the new list reverberated beyond Latter-day Saints.<\/p>\n

Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush, a Baptist minister and president and CEO of the Interfaith Alliance advocacy group accused the administration Friday of pushing a \u201cChristian nationalist takeover of the Department of Defense.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cReligious freedom in the military must mean religious freedom for everyone who serves, not just those this administration finds politically useful,\u201d Raushenbush said in a statement.<\/p>\n

\u201cSecretary Hegseth is not \u2018streamlining\u2019 anything. He is elevating one narrow religious worldview from the top of the chain of command. That is dangerous, discriminatory and fundamentally un-American. The First Amendment does not allow the government to create a hierarchy of faiths, and it certainly does not allow the Pentagon to decide which beliefs are worthy of recognition.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hegseth announced a restructuring of the military\u2019s chaplain corps in March, which he said had been \u201cinfected with political correctness and secular humanism.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Hegseth\u00a0hosts a monthly Christian worship service at the Pentagon.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Pentagon changed course Monday after its removal of dozens of religious denominations from a list of recognized faiths drew intense criticism over the weekend from Utah Republicans incensed by the failure to classify the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as a Christian denomination.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":354,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-355","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\nDoD tweaks organized religion list after complaints of Latter-day Saints snub - North Carolina Moving Journal<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/northcarolinamovingjournal.com\/?p=355\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"DoD tweaks organized religion list after complaints of Latter-day Saints snub - 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