Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth delivers remarks in the Amphitheater on Memorial Day at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va. The Pentagon on Monday released a revised list of religious affiliations for service members after an earlier list draw ire from Mormons. Photo by Kyle Mazza /UPI | License Photo
June 8 (UPI) -- Days after sharing a shortened list of religious affiliations for service members, the Pentagon has issued a new list removing the "Christian" category. The change was apparently spurred by backlash that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints was not originally listed in that category.
Last week, Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell shared a list of 31 religious affiliations from which service members could choose. This was a change from the prior list of 200. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth earlier called the lengthier list of faith codes "impractical and unusable" and said the Pentagon would shorten it.
"An overwhelming majority of the military population used only six of the codes," Hegseth said in March, The Hill reported. He said a shorter list would help chaplains minister to service members "in a way that aligns with that service member's faith background and religious practice."
