The Department of War (DOW) has significantly reduced its list of religious affiliation categories for service members, cutting the number down from more than 200 to just 31. Officials say the move is intended to help military chaplains deliver more effective religious support across the armed forces.
"In a long overdue move, we reduced the list from over 200 unmanageable categories to 31. With this move, we are returning to the original intent of collecting this data - to allow our chaplains and religious support personnel to provide the best spiritual care to our warfighters."
Parnell also posted a May 20 memorandum signed by Anthony Tata, the Under Secretary of War for Personnel and Readiness at the DOW, stating that the new Religious Affiliation Codes officially replace the department's previous Faith and Belief Codes and will be used to inform the military's religious support activities.
The updated list contains 31 categories. Twenty-one are dedicated to Christian denominations and Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Major faith group categories include Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, Sikhism, Buddhism, and Baha'i. Codes are also available for Agnostic, No Religion, and Other Religions.
The May 20 memorandum explains that the change aims to “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.”
It also adds that “service members will not be limited to the list of “Religious Affiliation Codes” when selecting information to place on their identification tags (i.e., “dog tags”)."
Officials stressed that reducing the number of codes does not limit religious freedom or create a list of government-approved faiths.
“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,” Parnell said, adding that the DOW “places a high value on the First Amendment and the free exercise of religion.”
Previous System Concerned About 'Political Correctness': Hegseth
The decision comes on the heels of reforms announced March 25 by Hegseth. In a video statement released by the DOW, Hegseth explained that the previous system had grown unmanageable with more than 200 faith codes, making it difficult to navigate and use effectively."The previous system had ballooned to well over 200 faith codes,” he said. He said that many of those codes were added to address concerns about political correctness.
He noted that 82 percent of religious service members used only six of the existing codes. By cutting the list down, Hegseth said, the system would return to its original purpose: giving chaplains "clear, usable information" about the faith backgrounds of those they serve.
The May 20 memorandum directs the Defense Human Resources Activity and Defense Manpower Data Center to complete system updates within 60 days.
Military branches are also required to update their personnel systems and establish procedures to transition existing records to the new religious affiliation codes.
Alongside the overhaul of religious affiliation codes, the department announced a separate reform in March: military chaplains will wear religious insignia rather than officer rank insignia on their work uniforms.
Hegseth described this change as reinforcing the primary role of chaplains as spiritual leaders within the armed forces.
"A chaplain is first and foremost a chaplain, and an officer second. This change is a visual representation of that fact," he said.