Military 'Religious Affiliation Codes' Shrinks

As put forth in a May 20, 2026 Memo:

"The new 'Religious Affiliation Codes' list will provide chaplains with clear, readily available information that will better enable them to anticipate the religious support needs of Service members and to provide religious support activities that align with Service members' personal faith and practices..."

This provision (they claim) is for religious support service. So it does not mean that they are kicking those religions out of the military, but it does mean minority religions including Paganism, Wicca, Druidry and Heathenism will no longer be formally recognized. As far as Pagan based faiths are concerned this may impact roughly about 6,300 to 8,400 service members.

In a recent video response I made to Pete Hegseth that can be found here, Hegseth used such charged language as "infected by political correctness and secular humanism."

Some Statistics

I do not know exactly what he believes are faiths of "political correctness". The largest influence on political correctness in terms of language, nudity and fictional violence in games and movies has been Christianity. Christianity has deemed certain words as "curse words" and attempted to completely remove them from our lexicon. Placed Parental Guidance stickers on music labels, etc. The list goes on and on. Based on a very rough estimate of Pagans, Druids, Witches, Wiccans and Heathens in America we make up roughly about 0.3 to 0.4% of the US population. Given the estimated population of service members in our armed forces as roughly 2.1 million. This means about 6,300 to 8,400 service members identify as either Pagan, Druid, Witch, Wiccan or Heathen.

About 1% of the population identify as "Secular Humanist" and 24-29% thats about 1/3 of all Americans identify as "none" and 70-76% identify a some specific religious tradition.

There are an estimated 4,200 religions in the entire world and an estimated over 370 in the United States. Two hundred faith codes may seem like a lot, but when you realize it represents an estimate 2.1 million service men and women, it is actually quite a small number and 31 is completely to narrow. Considering that 21 of those represent Christian denominations, 22 if the military is now recognizing the Church of Latter day Saints, this means there are only 9 other faith codes and "other" is filling a huge gap.

Impact of this Reduction

By removing the recognition of certain chaplains he is forcing individuals to seek solace internally, to rely upon themselves and devaluing their faith. As a soldier dealing with trauma I would assume isolating oneself is detrimental. It may be difficult to speak to someone who does not share your world- view or a general philosophy as your own. I really do not see unrepresented soldiers feeling comfortable in this environment to open up about serious issues. Now at first this may not seem like a big deal, but it does negatively impact those who will fall into the "other" category. Let's take a deeper look into what this actually means:

Religious Support Services

In military doctrine, “religious support services” refers to all chaplain-provided activities that enable free exercise of religion – for example, conducting worship services, performing sacraments or rites, offering pastoral counseling, providing religious education, and advising commanders on ethical/religious issues.

“Religious support needs” are the specific spiritual or religious requirements of service members (dietary laws, observance of holy days, desire for counsel or prayer support, etc.) that chaplains seek to fulfill. Joint doctrine explicitly defines chaplaincy’s mission as meeting the “personal free exercise of religion needs” of military personnel. Army chaplain doctrine likewise lists worship, rites and sacraments, pastoral care, and religious education (among other functions) as core religious support activities.

Concrete examples of religious support services include, and I am only going to highlight a few:

• Worship and Rites: Chaplains routinely conduct services (e.g. Protestant worship, Catholic Mass, Jewish Sabbath services, Muslim Jumu’ah prayers, etc.) and administer sacramental rites (Baptism, Holy Communion, etc.).
• Pastoral Counseling: Chaplains and their staff provide one-on-one or group counseling for spiritual, marital, family or morale issues, often through unit ministry teams or Chaplain Family Life Centers.
• Religious Education: Religious instruction and study (Sunday school, Bible studies, midweek seminars, etc.) are sponsored by chaplains to deepen faith and community life.
• Holy Day Accommodations: Military policy calls for accommodating holy day observances (theater, Sabbath, Ramadan, etc.) whenever possible. For example, service members may receive leave or schedule adjustments for major religious holidays.

Here is where there may be a concern, a minority religious adherent may not get accommodations or receive leave for their major religious holidays.

• Dietary Laws: Chaplains coordinate with support staff to provide special meal options (kosher, halal, vegetarian, etc.) or allow separate rations in the field for religious dietary restrictions.
• Burial and Ceremonies: Chaplains conduct funerals and memorial services according to faith traditions, and arrange religious honors (e.g. chaplain say the prayer at a religious service).
• Religious Materials and Facilities: Chaplains maintain a supply of sacred texts, prayer books, religious symbols or articles (e.g. crucifixes, prayer mats) and manage multi-faith chapel spaces for use by different faith groups.

This would be where statuettes and liturgy for Pagans, Druids, Heathens and Wiccans would be kept.

• Referral and Liaison: When chaplains cannot perform a specific faith’s rite (for example, if no chaplain of that faith is assigned), they refer service members to civilian clergy or coordinate with endorsing religious organizations. They also advise commanders on local or indigenous religious practices in a deployment area.

Good news here; the chaplain may consult or bring in an outside civilian clergy member.

• Ethical Advisement: Chaplains serve as advisors on moral and ethical issues. Doctrine emphasizes that chaplains counsel commanders on the “moral and ethical nature” of policies, interfaith relations, and accommodation of religious needs. This non-ritual function supports mission command and troop morale.

The reduction to 31 official codes may simplify data handling but has practical effects on religious support. In general, listed faiths (those included in the new code list) gain greater visibility in official statistics. Chaplains can readily see how many unit members identify with each listed category and plan specific resources for them. Endorsing bodies for listed faiths (e.g. Catholic diocese, Jewish rabbinates) have clear channels to request chaplain assignments, and chaplain supply systems are structured to stock necessary items for those faiths.

In contrast, unlisted faiths (those removed from the list, now lumped into “Other” or a broad category) face challenges. Because they no longer appear as distinct data categories, commanding officers and chaplains may underestimate or overlook their presence. For example, if Wiccan or Druid adherents were previously counted separately, chaplains knew to anticipate specific items (altar tools, nature-based observances) and possibly invite Wiccan priests. Under the new system, such practitioners would just be “Other,” making targeted support harder. Chaplains and commands must now rely more on direct communication with service members of unlisted faiths to identify their needs.

The impact this change will have on our service members:

 

Support Type	Listed Faith	Unlisted Faith
Data & Visibility:	Presence tracked: Regular surveys and personnel records explicitly record the affiliation. Command knows how many adhere and plans accordingly.	Lumped as “Other”:* No separate count. Chaplains must discover individuals by word-of-mouth; smaller groups may go unnoticed.
Chaplain Assignment:	Dedicated chaplain: Denominational endorsement likely ensures at least one chaplain of that faith is available or assigned to cover those believers.	No specific chaplain:** No official chaplain of that faith exists; believers rely on general chaplains of another faith or on lay leaders and civilian clergy. May need interfaith solutions.
Worship Services:	Regular services: Chaplain schedules on-base worship (e.g. weekly Sabbath, Friday prayers) and secures appropriate worship space.	Ad hoc gatherings:*** If believers identify themselves, chaplain may help arrange occasional or joint interfaith services. No guaranteed weekly service unless petitioned.
Sacraments/Rites:	Authorized rites: Chaplain (or visiting clergy) can perform faith-specific rites (e.g. baptism, holy communion) according to tradition.	Referral needed: Chaplain may facilitate off-base rites (e.g. coordinate civilian clergy visit for a wedding/funeral), or adapt similar rites if doctrinally permissible.
Counseling & Care:	Faith-specific care: Chaplain trained in that tradition or endorsed by that faith provides pastoral care.	Generic counseling: Any chaplain is available for general counsel. The service member might request a chaplain of a different faith or civilian counselor for tradition-specific support.
Holy Days & Holidays:	Scheduled observances: Chaplain and command plan leave or services for the faith’s holy days (e.g. church services on Christmas, etc.). Meals may be provided per religious calendars.	Recognition on request: Faithful must inform leadership of special observances. Chaplain assists in navigating holiday accommodations case-by-case. Awareness relies on individual initiative.
Dietary Needs:	Automatic provisioning: Mess halls routinely stock required items (kosher, halal, vegetarian options) knowing the count of adherents.	Request-driven: Vegetarianism or special foods obtained via individual requests; chaplain may advise logistics, but extra meals likely at own expense unless approved as accommodation.
Religious Materials	Standard supply: Chaplains’ kits include texts (Bible, Quran, prayer mats, etc.) and symbols for listed faiths, drawn from known adherent counts.	Special sourcing: Unlisted faith items must be requested or self-supplied. The individual or chaplain may procure materials from civilian sources.
Reporting & Trends:	Data-driven planning: Chaplains report and analyze trends by faith category, adjusting programs (e.g. adding events for growing groups).	No trend data: Trends among “Other” are not visible without manual tracking. Chaplains rely on informal feedback for planning.
*A struggling Wiccan or Druid may not feel accepted and this could further isolate them. **If there are only a few Wiccan or Druid service members, some sort of accommodation could be made as needed when civilian clergy are brought in. ***This is not guaranteed, but they can petition for it.

 

In Conclusion

This is not expansive, this is a reductive This is not a step forward, nor is this making anything better or even more efficient this is blatantly a way to sideline certain faiths and demean others by delegitimizing them. Even Hegseth's use of language such as "infect" and "political correctness" are negatively charged. While promoting very Christian terms such a "shepard", "flock" and "divinely called" - these are not words spoken by a military leader to address his troops in the spirit of unity, liberty and freedom but rather to segregate and divide and show favoritism.

This is indeed not the worst thing that could happen for our brave men and women charged with defending our great nation, but it is also a set back, one of many we have and will witness. As Christian nationalists wrap everything in together and assume that everything not Christian is woke, negatively progressive, marxist, anti-American and anti-Christian - Pagan faiths have become the scapegoat - destined to carry the sins of everything Christian Nationalism deems wrong with current society.

Why? Because we are an easy target, that's why.

A Special Thank You To Our Service Members

To our brave Pagan service men and women who have taken an oath to defend our great nation, I salute you and your service. You are worthy of respect, worthy of honor and you act out of love of your fellow man, your fellow comrades and your Gods. Hold your head high because you take the written words of the people's Bill of Rights to heart and give them life, you are the embodiment of what freedom and liberty for all truly means.