Hegseth vows to refocus Army Chaplain Corps on God, theology

The Department of Defense is set to implement sweeping changes to restore the role of the U.S. military’s Army Chaplain Corps, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said in a Tuesday video statement. The corps has minimized the role of chaplain to that of a therapist or an emotional support officer, rather than an actual minister, he said. His plans will put spiritual well-being on the same level as mental and physical health, he said.

The Army Chaplain Corps, which was founded by George Washington during the American Revolutionary War, currently has around 3,000 chaplains.

How will Hegseth implement these changes? He ordered the usage of the Army’s current spiritual fitness guide to stop immediately. The guide pushes secular humanism by mentioning feelings 11 times and playfulness nine times, but it only says God one time, Hegseth said. This is unacceptable and unserious, he said.

Additionally, the Defense Department uses more than 200 faith codes to recognize what qualifies as a religious denomination or belief system, ranging from mainstream to obscure Christian sects, Wiccans, pagans, and atheists. The department will create a new streamlined list of codes, Hegseth said.

What’s the response been to these proposed changes? Evangelist Franklin Graham thanked Hegseth for the announcement in a social media post. He characterized chaplains as the moral backbone of U.S. forces. Ryan Helfenbein, the vice president of communications at Liberty University, called Hegseth’s announcement an opportunity to bring the gospel back into the mainstream of military service. Chris Motz, an attorney at First Liberty Institute, said the changes would promote religious freedom and thwart the efforts of what he characterized as “woke activists.”

Dig deeper: Read my report on the Department of Defense’s $1.2 billion investment into military barracks.