Pentagon adjusts faith codes list after Mormon backlash

The Department of Defense on Monday updated its Religious Affiliation Codes, formerly known as the Faith and Belief Coding System, following backlash from Mormon members of Congress on last week’s proposed list. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth kicked off a revision of the list in December, saying the list was impractically long and out of date.

Sean Parnell, the chief Pentagon spokesman, announced the original updates to the RAC on June 5, releasing a list that cut around 180 faith categories and classified 21 as Christian. The proposed list controversially excluded the Latter Day Saints religious group from the Christian label, while including other groups such as Jehovah’s Witnesses, Christian Science and Seventh-Day Adventism.

The LDS’ religious leadership did not release any official statements on the exclusion, but several Mormon members of Congress were quick to speak out. Utah Republicans Sen. John Curtis, Rep. Mike Kennedy, and Sen. Mike Lee, all took to social media to express their concerns surrounding the characterization, calling on the Pentagon to make a correction. In a late post Sunday, Rep. Lee said he discussed the list with President Donald Trump and was happy with where things were headed. At noon, the Pentagon released an updated list that had removed the Christian label from any faiths, saying it wasn’t its job to “adjudicate theological debates.”

What are the religious affiliation codes used for? The list is a resource for the Army Chaplain Corps as they minister to different faith demographics within the United States troops. In a March video, Secretary Hegseth said the update was a part of efforts to return the chaplain corps to its core mission of serving the spiritual needs of the servicemen and servicewomen. Over 80% of corps members identify as being religious, he said.

Dig Deeper: Read Liz Lykin’s report on Hegseth’s original announcement of the updates in December.