Pentagon Revises Faith Codes After Mormon Backlash
Pentagon removed Christian subheadings from its new 31-item faith code list after Mormon lawmakers protested omission of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
ABC News'Repugnant': Pentagon revises list of religious affiliations after backlash from Mormon congressmen
Raw StoryPete Hegseth 'backtracks' on controversial religious policy
VoxHow the Pentagon picked a fight with Mormons
World News GroupPentagon adjusts faith codes list after Morman backlash
Overview
The Pentagon updated its Religious Affiliation Codes on Monday, removing 'Christian' subheadings after criticism that the initial list did not label the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as Christian, the department said.
The change followed a proposed consolidation that reduced the military's faith codes from more than 200 to 31, which initially labeled 21 denominations as 'Christian' while omitting the Christian descriptor for the LDS church.
Utah Republicans Sen. Mike Lee, Sen. John Curtis and Rep. Mike Kennedy publicly rebuked the omission, with Lee calling it 'offensive' and 'repugnant' and urging Secretary Pete Hegseth to 'undo it,' according to their posts.
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell had posted the original list on June 5 and Pentagon documents and spokespeople said the previewed list 'included redundant and unnecessary labeling' that has since been corrected.
A May 20 memorandum from Under Secretary of Defense Anthony Tata said the revised codes are intended to give chaplains clearer information to anticipate religious needs, and Secretary Hegseth said the changes would take effect by mid-July.
Analysis
Center-leaning sources frame the story as a corrected government misstep that offended LDS members, emphasizing rapid DOD backtracking and Utah Republican reactions. Editorial choices highlight the DOD’s apology and political praise, use charged words like “mistake” and “offended,” and omit broader theological or military rationale, centering affected communities and political actors.