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Article excerpts (emphasis added):
“Military.com has learned that the Department of Defense, for the first time in almost 10 years, has dramatically reduced its number of recognized religious faiths and belief systems by approximately 180.
“The reforms mark the first time the list has been officially revised since a memo was issued March 27, 2017, decreasing the total number of faiths from roughly 211 to its new number of 31. …”
[…]
“This restructuring of faith codes, which help identity service members as well as the military in planning for appropriated religious coverage to include them, has now excluded minority faith/worldview groups including Atheists, Asatru, Deists, Druids, Eckankar, Heathens, Humanists, Magick, New Age churches, Pagan, Rosicrucianism, Shaman, Spiritualists, Troth, Unitarian Universalists and various Wiccans.”
[…]
“A former U.S. Army chaplain who now serves as an endorser told Military.com the revised list is ‘horrible.’
“‘When I raised my hand to become an Army chaplain, I swore that I would support and defend the Constitution,’ the individual, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told Military.com. ‘The First Amendment is the free exercise of religion for everybody. That's what I was buying into.’”
[…]
“Another individual who also spoke anonymously to Military.com is a U.S. Army veteran who served from 2000 to 2010, including three tours in Iraq.
“They are ordained in Wicca as a cleric priest, in Asatru as a Gothi, and as a Druid. And on the secular academic side, they hold a master’s degree in clinical mental health counseling, divinity, and a doctorate of ministry in interreligious chaplaincy.
“When the individual was notified about five days ago of the changes to the coding system, they were reminded of what happened to them more than 20 years ago. During their first deployment to Iraq, as a junior enlisted infantryman struggling with what they were seeing and doing in combat, they went to the unit chaplain for guidance.
“The individual claimed that for the following eight months, that chaplain ‘took every opportunity to use their rank to try and evangelize and convert me.’ Chaplain recruiting offices would hang up as soon as they found out that they were pagan, and it wasn't until 2007 that they were allowed to have ‘Pagan’ identified on enlisted records and dog tags.”
[…]
“The individuals who spoke with Military.com are two clients of among more than 100,000 represented by the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF), whose client base is roughly 95% Christian.
“The organization’s co-founder, Mikey Weinstein, told Military.com that this new DOD list is a “middle finger to the United States Constitution’s separation of church and state.” The U.S. Air Force veteran said that codes like this have existed to perform services that sailors, soldiers, Marines, airmen or guardians want.
“‘Reducing the number of religious faiths from hundreds down to 31 is another absolute, clear, filthy and disgusting, unconstitutional, immoral and unethical attempt to force only the approved solution, getting closer and closer to Christian nationalism,’ Weinstein said.
He compared the new list to the faiths and beliefs identified by the Department of Veterans Affairs, which recognizes more than 220 belief systems and has more than 80 emblems for headstones.
“So, if you're dead, you'll get your emblem,” Weinstein added. “But if you're alive, you can't even get it on your dog tags unless you qualify for one of these faith traditions that in the eyes of Hegseth and other Christian nationalists are worthy of recognition after years of all of the others being there.”
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