Dropping recognized faiths from the DOD. . .

The Department of Defense, for the first time in almost a decade, dramatically reduced its number of its recognized religious faiths and belief systems by approximately 180.  These reforms mark the first time the list has been officially revised since the March 27, 2017 memo, decreasing the total number of faiths from 211 to its new number of 31. The changes were iterated in a May 20, 2026, in a memorandum issued by the Under Secretary.

Secretary Hegseth said his department would be significantly streamlining the number of faith code affiliations for service members, including a separate but related change to replace rank insignia military chaplains wear on their work uniforms with religious insignia.  The faith and belief coding system, renamed to "religious affiliation codes,” was simply due to a system that had become too big, according to the secretary.

In what will certainly be claimed is a moved enhancing Christianity, the numbers of faith code affiliations had become inordinately long and complicated.  What it will mean going forward remains to be seen. I am sure we have not heard the last of this.

The new list now only includes: 

Agnostic (AN)
Baha'i faith (BH)
Buddhism (BU)
Christian - Assemblies of God (AG)
Christian - Baptist (BA)
Christian - Brethren (BR)
Christian - Catholic (CA)
Christian - Church of Christ (CC)
Christian - Church of God (CG)
Christian - Church of the Nazarene (CN)
Christian - Episcopal/Anglican (EA)
Christian - Evangelical (EV)
Christian - Jehovah's Witnesses (JW)
Christian - Lutheran (LU)
Christian - Methodist (ME)
Christian - Non Denominational (ND)
Christian - Orthodox (OX)
Christian - Other (CO)
Christian - Pentecostal (PE)
Christian - Presbyterian (PR)
Christian - Quaker (QU)
Christian - Reformed (RE)
Christian - Scientist (SC)
Christian - Seventh Day Adventist (SA)
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (CJ)
Hindu (HI)
Islam (Muslim) (IS)
Judaism (Jewish) (JU)
No Religion (NR)
Other Religions (OR)
Sikh (SI)