Mormon lawmakers accused the Pentagon of cutting back and reclassifying official religions. Here’s why:
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WASHINGTON – The Pentagon has revamped the list of religious beliefs and traditions it uses to provide services to military personnel after Mormon Republicans accused the Pentagon of not classifying The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as Christian.
The agency said in a June 8 statement that recent updates to the classification of religions “included redundant and unnecessary labeling.” The list, confirmed by the Department of Defense last week, reduces the number of recognized faith codes from more than 200 to 30. Of the religions included, 21 were labeled “Christian.” The LDS Church was put into a separate category.
Utah Sens. Mike Lee, John Curtis, and Mike Kennedy, all Mormons, denounced the move as highly offensive on social media.
“The Department of Defense’s decision to list The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints separately from other Christian faiths is a mistake and must be corrected,” Kennedy said in a June 7 post.
Lee said in a June 8 social media post that he spoke with President Donald Trump about his concerns about this characterization. Hours after Lee’s post, the Pentagon rescinded its original decision, saying the “mistake has been corrected.”
However, we do not label the LDS Church as “Christian.” Instead, authorities are removing “Christian” designations from other religions. The updated list of approved faiths also removed “Christianity – Other.”
“The goal of this effort is to simplify the previously uncontrollable ‘belief’ coding system, which has ballooned to more than 200 codes,” the Pentagon said in a statement.
Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints affirm that they are Christians. However, some other Christian denominations, including evangelicals, do not consider the LDS Church to be Christian, but describe it as a cult, according to the church’s website.
Former Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) struggled to appeal to evangelical Christians who were skeptical of Mormonism during his 2008 and 2012 presidential campaigns. One 2012 poll found that 23% of white evangelical voters were uncomfortable with Mr. Romney’s religion.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s church, the Reformed Evangelical Church Community, is one church that considers the LDS Church to be non-Christian.
Hegseth has worked to implement many religious reforms at the Department of Defense. In March, he announced that military chaplains were ordered not to wear rank insignia, but instead to display religious insignia while maintaining their rank as officers.
The agency’s reclassification of the LDS Church is part of a broader reorganization of religions recognized by the agency. Mr. Hegseth ordered the latest move to streamline the number of religions in a May 20 memo that sparked controversy with Mormon lawmakers.
This list includes 21 faith traditions that fall under Christianity and nine other faith traditions, including Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism, and a general category called “other religions.”
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in an initial statement that the changes are “not intended to legitimize any faith or religious belief” or “to provide an ‘officially approved’ list.”The Pentagon’s reduction in religious affiliation provisions is intended to help military chaplains “rapidly review the religious makeup of their units” and determine how best to allocate resources.
