WASHINGTON — The Pentagon on June 5 announced it has reduced the number of religious affiliation codes it officially recognizes for service members from more than 200 to 31, eliminating categories that included atheists, Unitarian Universalists, pagans and Wiccans from a list chaplains use to track unit composition.
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement that the change was designed to streamline administrative recordkeeping for chaplains.
“This decrease in religious affiliation codes is not designed to make statements about the legitimacy of any faith or religious belief, nor is it intended to provide a list of ‘officially approved’ religions,” Parnell said. “Rather, it is designed to allow chaplains to quickly consult the religious composition of their units and determine how to structure resources to best serve combatants of all faith groups.”
The new list, containing 31 recognized codes, replaces a prior administrative system that included over 200 faith-group options troops could select from on personnel forms. Parnell emphasized the change was a practical consolidation of codes rather than a theological judgment.
The Pentagon’s announcement comes as the military, under the Trump administration, has made a series of personnel policy changes with cultural and religious dimensions. In late March, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth held a Christian worship service at the Pentagon during the Iran conflict. In April, Hegseth announced the military would no longer mandate the flu vaccine for troops.
The reduction in recognized religious affiliation codes means troops who previously selected codes that are no longer on the list will have their affiliations reclassified into a smaller set of administrative categories, Parnell said. He did not provide a detailed timeline for the implementation of the new codes or specify how the reclassification would affect service members’ ability to request accommodations for religious observance. The Pentagon said the change was strictly for internal administrative use and was not intended to restrict religious practice.