{"id":266,"date":"2026-06-08T17:09:21","date_gmt":"2026-06-08T17:09:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=266"},"modified":"2026-06-08T17:09:21","modified_gmt":"2026-06-08T17:09:21","slug":"the-pentagon-changed-its-religious-classifications-after-outrage-from-lds-lawmakers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=266","title":{"rendered":"The Pentagon Changed Its Religious Classifications After Outrage From LDS Lawmakers"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Pentagon on Monday backtracked on a disputed religious-affiliation policy that sparked a backlash from members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and Republican lawmakers, saying the list had contained a \u201cmistake\u201d that \u201chas been fixed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more The IRS Moved IT and HR Staff to Process Taxes. It\u2019s Not Going Well.<\/a><\/p>\n

The statement, posted by a Department of Defense account on X, came hours after Sen. Mike Lee said he had personally appealed to President Donald Trump on the issue. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints had been left outside a list of Christian denominations used in military personnel records.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just got off the phone with President Trump,\u201d Lee, a Utah Republican and Trump ally, posted on X<\/u><\/span>. \u201cWe discussed the Pentagon\u2019s \u2018Christian list\u2019. I won\u2019t speak for him, but I\u2019m thrilled about where this is heading. We\u2019re most fortunate that President Trump (1) loves Latter-day Saints, and (2) is our commander in chief. Stay tuned.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Pentagon confirmed last week<\/u><\/span> that it reduced more than 200 religious affiliation codes to 31. The list included more than 20 categories labeled \u201cChristian,\u201d but placed the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in a separate category.<\/p>\n

Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell defended the May 20 memo last week, saying the changes<\/u><\/span> were intended to simplify religious-affiliation tracking and help military chaplains better understand the makeup of the force.<\/p>\n

But on Monday, the Pentagon distanced itself from the document, calling it \u201cleaked.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Pentagon\u2019s job is not to adjudicate theological debates, but instead to ensure sincerely-held faith is respected and encouraged in our ranks,\u201d the statement said.<\/p>\n

Under the list the Pentagon posted Monday, religious denominations were generally listed by name rather than grouped under \u201cChristian\u201d categories, a change that removed the distinction that had roiled several LDS members in Congress.<\/p>\n

Lee, who had called the initial change \u201crepugnant,\u201d posted Monday that he was \u201cgrateful to @SecWar Hegseth for correcting the error.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fellow Utah Sen. John Curtis, who also spoke out against the policy change previously, posted in approval.<\/p>\n

Read more Trump\u2019s Other Job<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThank you to the @DeptofWar for listening to our concerns, engaging thoughtfully and respectfully with my office on this issue, and for delivering a swift correction,\u201d Sen. John Curtis, a Mormon and Utah Republican, wrote in a post afterward<\/u><\/span>.<\/p>\n

Utah Republican Reps. Mike Kennedy and Celeste Maloy and Arizona Democrats Rep. Greg Stanton and Sen. Ruben Gallego also previously spoke out against the list.<\/p>\n

Kennedy said the classification is \u201cwrong and needs to be corrected,\u201d while Maloy wrote<\/u><\/span> that members of the church \u201care Christian.\u201d Stanton said Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth owed the public \u201can honest explanation.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Pentagon \u201cneeds to correct the record. Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints truly are Christians. I happen to be a member, and first and foremost I believe in Jesus Christ. We are Christians,\u201d former Rep. Jason Chaffetz, a Utah Republican, said in a post<\/u><\/span>.<\/p>\n

The controversy touches on a longstanding debate over the place of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints within Christianity. Church members identify as Christians because of their belief in Jesus Christ, while some other Christian denominations have historically argued that theological differences place the faith outside traditional Christian orthodoxy.<\/p>\n

The changes were iterated in a May 20, 2026, memorandum signed by Anthony Tata, the Pentagon\u2019s personnel chief.<\/p>\n

Tata\u2019s 2020 nomination for a senior Pentagon post collapsed amid backlash over anti-Muslim comments and social media posts calling former President Barack Obama a \u201cterrorist leader\u201d \u2014 comments he later said did not reflect his views.<\/p>\n

Hegseth has faced criticism from some church-state advocates over his public use of Christian language in official Pentagon events and policies, hosting prayer events at the Pentagon and describing military operations in religious terms.<\/p>\n

Read more It\u2019s Johnson\u2019s Gavel But Trump\u2019s House<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sen. Mike Lee said he discussed the matter with President Donald Trump.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":265,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-266","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-defense"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Pentagon Changed Its Religious Classifications After Outrage From LDS Lawmakers - Modern Home Journals<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=266\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Pentagon Changed Its Religious Classifications After Outrage From LDS Lawmakers - Modern Home Journals\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Sen. 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