(RNS) — After eliminating about 180 faith groups from its list of recognized religions, the Department of Defense moved quickly to revise the list once again on Monday (June 8) in response to criticism from various religious groups.
The most updated list dropped the word “Christian” from 19 categories after pressure from two Utah senators and others who objected to a missing “Christian” label beside the name of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Defense Department also dropped the category “Christian-Other.”
“The Pentagon list included redundant and unnecessary labeling, and the mistake has been fixed,” the DOW Rapid Response X account tweeted, which also listed the updated religious affiliation codes.
The Defense Department under Secretary Pete Hegseth last month pared down the list of recognized religious labels in the military from 211 to a mere 31 — the vast majority of which are various Christian denominations.
On Monday, the list included 30 faiths.
Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., the co-chair of the Congressional Freethought Caucus, called the revised list “completely un-American and unconstitutional,” pointing to the First Amendment, which prevents the government from establishing a national religion and allows individuals to freely practice their faith.
“Religious faith in America is not meant to be managed by the government,” Raskin said in a phone call with RNS. “It’s meant to be respected and honored by the government, but not managed, much less reduced and shrunk down.”
The narrowed list …