Army Updates Religious Designations Amid Backlash
The Department of the Army announced on Monday a revision to its list of religious designations for military personnel, reacting to criticism regarding the omission of Mormonism as a recognized Christian denomination.
A memorandum dated May 20 indicated a significant reduction in the number of recognized faiths, dropping from 211 to 31. Of these, 21 designations acknowledged different branches of Christianity, yet The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was notably missing from this categorization, as reported by CNN.
Senator Mike Lee from Utah expressed his discontent with the Army’s decision, pointing out the inconsistency in recognizing virtually all Christian denominations except for those associated with the LDS Church. He remarked, “I think it’s very unfortunate that the Department of Defense has chosen to essentially identify as Christian all faith groups in the United States that profess faith in Jesus Christ, with one exception: those that belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.”
Lee further articulated that this exclusion was offensive—not just to him personally, as a member of the faith, but also to the larger community of service members who share similar beliefs. He emphasized the importance of maintaining a separation between government and religious doctrine disputes.
In a similar vein, Representative Mike Kennedy, also from Utah, urged the Army to reconsider its list of recognized faiths, as reported by CNN.
The Department of Defense clarified that the updated list aimed to streamline the previously convoluted coding system related to beliefs. Their post described the reorganization as a necessary adjustment to eliminate redundant labels, with a new “simplified faith code” structure introduced.
Each denomination is now assigned a concise code: “CJ” for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, “CA” for Catholicism, “AN” for agnosticism, “BU” for Buddhism, and “NR” for non-religious individuals.
Acknowledging challenges in religious identification within military ranks, the Department of Defense reiterated its commitment to respecting and encouraging sincere faith, rather than settling theological disputes.
In March, Army Secretary Pete Hegseth had indicated intentions to streamline faith affiliation codes and noted that military chaplains would don religious insignia on their uniforms instead of traditional rank insignia. Meanwhile, groups such as atheists, deists, druids, and New Age churches were excluded from the Army’s updated list of approved faiths, according to Military.com.
