WASHINGTON — The Wild Hunt has received multiple reports from anonymous sources indicating that the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) has dramatically reduced the number of recognized religious affiliation codes used by service members. Various other news sources have now confirmed the change. The revision cuts the list from more than 200 faith and belief categories to just 31.
The revision removes approximately 180 minority religious, spiritual, and secular worldview designations. Faiths and belief systems reportedly excluded from the revised list include Atheists, Asatru, Deists, Druids, Eckankar, Heathens, Humanists, Magick practitioners, New Age churches, Pagans, Rosicrucians, Shamans, Spiritualists, members of The Troth, Unitarian Universalists, and various Wiccan traditions.
The streamlined list retains a smaller number of broadly defined categories, including Agnostics, Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims, Jews, Sikhs, and major Christian denominations such as Baptists, Catholics, Lutherans, and Methodists.
According to a memorandum signed by Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness Anthony Tata, the revision was directed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in order to “streamline the DoD collection of religious preferences for service members to enhance the delivery of targeted religious support from the Chaplaincy.” The memorandum instructed the department to revise the existing faith and belief coding system within 60 days.
“The new list will provide chaplains with clear, readily available information that will better enable them to anticipate the religious support needs of service members and to provide religious support activities that align with service members’ personal faith and practices,” Tata wrote.
Tata also noted that service members will not be limited to the revised religious affiliation codes when selecting information for military identification tags.
The move follows a broader effort by Hegseth to reshape the military chaplaincy. In September 2025, Hegseth made remarks singling out “Nordic Pagans.” In December 2025, he announced plans “to make the Chaplain Corps great again,” describing a top-down cultural shift that would place spiritual well-being on the same level as physical and mental health.
In March 2026, Hegseth outlined additional chaplaincy reforms, including plans to reduce the number of religious affiliation codes and to replace rank insignia worn by military chaplains on work uniforms with religious insignia. At the time, he argued that the existing system had become unwieldy.
29th Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth Official Portrait (DoD photo by Chad J. McNeeley)
“The previous system had ballooned to well over 200 faith codes,” Hegseth said. “It was impractical and unusable, and many codes were never used at all.” He added that approximately 82% of religiously affiliated service members used only six of the available codes.
Religious affiliation codes are used by the military to identify service members’ faith preferences and assist chaplaincies in planning religious support across the armed forces. The new policy represents a significant departure from a 2017 expansion of faith and belief codes implemented during President Donald Trump’s first administration.
At that time, the Armed Forces Chaplains Board endorsed broadening the list to better identify the religious preferences of military personnel. The expansion was intended to improve demographic tracking, strengthen planning for religious support, and provide a more accurate assessment of chaplaincy requirements across the services.
The Wild Hunt has requested clarification from the Department of Defense regarding the criteria used to determine which faiths and worldviews were removed from the revised list and what impact the changes may have on affected service members. As of publication, the department has not responded.
This is a developing story and will be updated as additional information becomes available.
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