The Defense Department has cut its officially recognized religious faith and belief codes from 211 to 31, a sweeping revision that removes roughly 180 entries from the defense department recognized religions list. The change was formalized in a May 20, 2026 memorandum issued by the Under Secretary of War and signed by Anthony Tata.
The memo says the overhaul was ordered by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and is meant to streamline the department’s collection of religious preferences for service members so chaplains can better deliver targeted religious support. Tata wrote that the new list would give chaplains clear, readily available information to anticipate religious support needs and provide services that align with service members’ faith and practices.
The revised list still includes Agnostics, Buddhists, Hindus, Islam, Judaism, Sikh and several Christian-based groups. But it drops many minority faith and worldview categories, including Atheists, Asatru, Deists, Druids, Eckankar, Heathens, Humanists, Magick, New Age churches, Pagan, Rosicrucianism, Shaman, Spiritualists, Troth, Unitarian Universalists and various Wiccans.
The practical effect is immediate for how the military records religion and plans chaplain services, even as the memo frames the change as a way to improve support. Military.com said the Pentagon had not officially revised the list in almost 10 years before the new memo, and noted that the 2017 update was meant to broaden and standardize the service branches’ recognition of faith preferences for tracking, demographics and chaplain readiness.
One detail remains unresolved: why those specific belief systems were removed while others stayed. The memo ordered the faith and belief codes to be revised within 60 days, leaving the final implementation and any follow-up guidance to come later.
