Removal of Religious Affiliations from the Defense Department's Military List

by Lilly Gioia

On Friday the Defense Department announced it has removed 180 separate religious affiliations from the U.S. military’s list of religious affiliation codes. The code for Unitarian Universalists was eliminated as well as Humanists, Atheists and pagan traditions, and many others. A statement by the Unitarian Universalist Association said, along with dozens of other religious traditions, UU’s will now be categorized broadly under “OTHER” in military religious affiliation codes.

This decision does not impact the status of our UU military chaplains, but may make it more difficult for our uniformed UUs to access the spiritual care that they need. At this time the UUA is diligently working with our UUA counsel and partners in a variety of faith traditions to craft a strategic response that faithfully represents our values and demonstrates clear support for our UU service members and their families, as well as all those who are impacted by the DOD policy.

As Unitarian Universalists, “Today we declare that no government action can erase our faith nor lessen the powerful and necessary grounding it provides for those who serve.“

These new reforms mark the first time the code list has been revised since March 2017, decreasing the total number of faiths from 211 to 31, according to Military.com. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth intends to enhance the delivery of targeted religious support from the Chaplaincy. This is the same Pete Hegseth who recently prayed at a Pentagon Christian service for VIOLENCE “against those who deserve no mercy.”

The revised list does include Agnostics, Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims, Judaism, Sikhs and “Other.” The rest are Christian-based groups (22 in all), everyone from Baptists, Catholic, Assembly of God, Evangelical, Orthodox, Pentecostal, Non-Denominational, Mormons and even Jehovah’s Witnesses.

Who’s not there anymore? Deists, Druids, Heathens, Humanists, Magik, Pagans, Shaman, various Wicans and Unitarian Universalists.

This represents a stark change from 2017 when the Armed Forces Chaplains Board endorsed an expansion “to standardize and better identify religious preferences recognized by the military services.”

In December 2025 Secretary Hegseth announced his intention to “make the Chaplain Corps great again.” He stressed prioritizing religious liberty and practice in the military by executing a “top-down shift, putting spiritual well-being on the same footing as physical and mental health.”

A former U.S. Army chaplain told Military.com that the revised list is
“horrible.” Mickey Weinstein, cofounder of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, told Military.com that the new DOD list is a “middle finger to the United States Constitution’s separation of church and state. Reducing the number of religious faiths from hundreds to 31 is another absolute, clear, filthy, and disgusting unconstitutional, immoral and unethical attempt to force only the approved solution, getting closer and closer to Christian nationalism,” Weinstein
said.

Herman Mehta, author of the Friendly Atheist Substack, questioned the exclusion of so many faith groups, including Atheists. “There are reasons to include folks, not just for accuracy, but because it makes it easier for people of minority beliefs to get the help they need.” “The new list “looks like a list made by Christian nationalists who have no awareness of the world that exists outside their bubble, but who know that there are some different kinds of Christians,” Mehta said.

Scott MacConoway, Government Affairs director for the Secular Coalition of America, stated that the military is slightly more religious than the population in general. About 25% will probably choose No Religion. That is about 525,000 service members. About half of them would say they are spiritual, but not religious. The rest would identify as atheists or humanists or something else.

The Religion News Service commented that Unitarian Universalists and Deists who are now excluded from the latest list, are among signers of the Declaration of Independence, although Unitarians and Universalists were separate groups at the time.