US Defence 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 on Wednesday that the office will help offer “first-class religious support” and will report directly to him.
“Our department is, you might say, putting on the full armour of God, because while we wage physical war, we all know the real battle is spiritual,” he said.
Hegseth has infused his evangelical Christianity into his leadership of the Pentagon, hosting worship services for employees and often speaking of the United States as a Christian nation.
The Office of Religious Affairs (ORA) will advocate for military chaplains and religious support “at the highest level of the Department,” according to a Pentagon statement.
It will not “compel religious participation, favour one faith, or diminish the rights of personnel of any faith or lack thereof.”
Some criticism of the initiative surfaced quickly.
The Pentagon “owes it to the nation’s service members to defend religious freedom,” said Rachel Laser, head of Americans United for Separation of Church, which has sued the Pentagon over its worship services.
“Hegseth’s latest announcement violates that promise by elevating Christianity to an even higher role in shaping US military policy.”
Other federal agencies have had religious or faith-based offices, which were established under President George W. Bush and were continued in different forms under the Obama and Biden administrations.
President Donald Trump established a White House Faith Office and had a similar effort during his first term.
Shaun Casey, a religion scholar, led the State Department’s Office of Religion and Global Affairs during the Obama administration.
The office did not promote religion or spiritual well-being, he said. “It was there to understand what were the political implications of lived religion in the various hot spots around the world.”
The leader of the new office has not been named. A Pentagon memo said the religious affairs director will coordinate spiritual resources, including “faith-based homeschool support for military families.”
Hegseth has also pushed the military school system to introduce more coursework that draws from 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 address the growing numbers of troops in mental health distress.
Hegseth has said he wants chaplains to focus more on God and less on therapeutic “self-help and self-care.”
The secretary has pushed other changes within the military’s 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 instead be identified by religious insignia.
The Defence Department also slashed the number of religious affiliations it officially recognises, down to 31 from more than 200 previously recognised traditions.
The list no longer includes atheists, Unitarian Universalists, pagans and Wiccans.
Hegseth spoke directly to chaplains in his address at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia. Using Christian-inflected language, he said: “Live your calling. Stand firm. Preach truth. Minister to the flock.”
He then quoted from the Bible: “The Lord is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do unto me?”
Additional sources • AP