DOD Roils the Faithful

DOD roils the faithful

DOD roils the faithful by dropping 180 faiths from recognized religion list 

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The Pentagon “dramatically reduced its number of recognized religious faiths and belief systems” late last month, “decreasing the total number of faiths from 211 to its new number of 31,” said Military.com. The revision, first reported this week, is the “first time in almost 10 years” the Defense Department has altered its list of recognized faiths. The list’s dramatic contraction is “not designed to make any claims on the legitimacy of any faith or religious belief,” nor is it intended to “provide a list of ‘officially approved’ religions,” said Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell (pictured above) on X.

The shift “enraged top Mormon officials in the Republican Party” after the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was dropped from the DOD’s list of Christian denominations, said The Daily Beast. “I find this offensive,” Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) said in a video posted on social media. The change flies in the face of the “common belief that the government needs to not weigh in on doctrinal disputes between various religious denominations.” It’s “unacceptable for a government entity to characterize a faith in a manner that contradicts the religion’s own foundational tenets,” said Sen. John Curtis (R-Utah) on X. “After the outcry” from Mormon leaders, the Pentagon updated its list again this week, said The Washington Post.

The revised list “simply states religious groups, without adding the tag ‘Christian’ to any.” Service members who belong to one of the 180 removed faith groups now have “just two options