WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is launching an office of religious affairs, the latest of his faith-related reforms at the Pentagon.
He announced in a speech Wednesday that the office would help provide “first-rate religious support” and would report directly to him.
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“Our department is, you could say, putting on the full armor of God, because even though we are fighting a physical war, we all know that the real battle is spiritual,” he said.
Hegseth infused his evangelical Christianity into his leadership of the Pentagon, holding Christian worship services for employees and often speaking of the United States as a Christian nation.
The Office of Religious Affairs, or ORA, will advocate for military chaplains and religious support “at the highest levels of the department,” according to a Pentagon statement. It will not compel religious participation, promote any faith, or diminish the rights of personnel of any faith or lack thereof.
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Some criticism of the initiative quickly surfaced.
The Pentagon “has a duty to the nation’s military to defend religious freedom,” said Rachel Laser, director of Americans United for Separation of Church, which has sued the Pentagon over its religious services. “Hegseth’s latest announcement violates that promise by elevating Christianity to an even more prominent role in shaping U.S. military policy.”
Other federal agencies have had faith-based or faith-based offices, which were established under President George W. Bush and continued in different forms during the Obama and Biden administrations. President Donald Trump created a religious office in the White House and made similar efforts during his first term.
Shaun Casey, a religion scholar, led the State Department’s Bureau of Religion and Global Affairs during the Obama administration. The office does not promote religion or spiritual well-being, he said. “It was there to understand what were the political implications of religion experienced in different hot spots around the world.”
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The head of the new office has not been named. A Pentagon memo says the director of religious affairs will coordinate spiritual resources, including “faith-based homeschooling support for military families.” Hegseth also pushed the military school system to introduce more courses inspired by conservative and Christian influences.
The memo mentions “faith-based initiatives supporting department-wide suicide reduction.” In recent years, the military has become increasingly dependent on chaplains to help deal with the growing number of soldiers in mental distress. Hegseth said he wants chaplains to focus more on God and less on therapeutic “self-help and self-care.”
The secretary of state pushed other changes within the military chaplain corps, which provides spiritual care to troops. He ordered chaplains, who are commissioned officers, to no longer wear their rank on their uniform but to be identified by religious insignia.
The Defense Department also reduced the number of religious affiliations it officially recognizes, reducing it to 31 out of more than 200 previously recognized traditions. The list no longer includes atheists, Unitarian Universalists, Pagans and Wiccans.
Hegseth spoke directly to chaplains in his speech Wednesday at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia. Using language with Christian overtones, he said: “Live out your calling. Hold fast. Preach the truth. Be of service to the herd. »
He then quoted from the Bible: “The Lord is with me; I won’t be afraid. What can man do to me?
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