Pentagon creates religious affairs office as Hegseth frames war as spiritual

Pete Hegseth has created a Pentagon Office of Religious Affairs reporting directly to him. The move has intensified criticism that faith is gaining undue influence over US military policy.

In Short

• The new office will report directly to Hegseth and support chaplains
• Pentagon says the unit will protect rights across all faiths
• Critics argue the move gives Christianity greater influence over military policy

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has announced the creation of an Office of Religious Affairs at the Pentagon, saying it will provide “first-class religious support” and report directly to him. In a speech on Wednesday, Hegseth said the department was “putting on the full armour of God” because “while we wage physical war, we all know the real battle is spiritual”.

The move is the latest in a series of faith-related changes under Hegseth, who has brought his evangelical Christianity into his leadership of the Pentagon by hosting Christian worship services for employees and often speaking of the United States as a Christian nation. The Pentagon said the Office of Religious Affairs, or ORA, would advocate for military chaplains and religious support “at the highest level of the Department”, and would not “compel religious participation, favour one faith, or diminish the rights of personnel of any faith or lack thereof”.

The announcement quickly drew criticism. Rachel Laser, head of Americans United for Separation of Church, which has sued the Pentagon over its worship services, said the Pentagon “owes it to the nation's service members to defend religious freedom”. She added, “Hegseth's latest announcement violates that promise by elevating Christianity to an even higher role in shaping US military policy.”

Faith-based offices have existed in other federal agencies. They were first set up under President George W. Bush and continued in different forms under the Obama and Biden administrations. President Donald Trump also set up a White House Faith Office and had a similar effort during his first term. Shaun Casey, a religion scholar who led the State Department's Office of Religion and Global Affairs during the Obama administration, said that office did not promote religion or spiritual well-being. “It was there to understand what were the political implications of lived religion in the various hot spots around the world,” he said.

The Pentagon has not named the head of the new office. A Pentagon memo said the religious affairs director would coordinate spiritual resources, including “faith-based homeschool support for military families”. Hegseth has also pushed the military school system to add more coursework drawing from conservative and Christian influences. The memo also refers to “faith-based initiatives supporting Department-wide suicide reduction”. In recent years, the military has increasingly relied on chaplains to help troops facing mental health distress. Hegseth has said he wants chaplains to focus more on God and less on therapeutic “self-help and self-care”.

Hegseth has also made other changes to the chaplain corps, which provides spiritual care to troops. He ordered chaplains, who are commissioned officers, to stop wearing their rank on uniforms and instead be identified by religious insignia. The Defence Department has also cut the number of religious affiliations it officially recognises to 31, down from more than 200 earlier. The revised list no longer includes atheists, Unitarian Universalists, pagans and Wiccans. Addressing chaplains at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia on Wednesday, Hegseth said, “Live your calling. Stand firm. Preach truth. Minister to the flock.” He then quoted the Bible, saying, “The Lord is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do unto me?” The new office marks another step in Hegseth's effort to expand the role of faith and chaplains within the Pentagon.

With PTI Inputs

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