Hegseth Makes Religious Affairs Office 10/02 06:09

   

   WASHINGTON (AP) -- Defense 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 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 armor 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 Christian worship services for employees and often speaking 
of the United States as a Christian nation.

   The Office of Religious Affairs, or 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, 
favor 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 U.S. 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 Defense Department also slashed the number of religious affiliations it 
officially recognizes, down to 31 from more than 200 previously recognized 
traditions. The list no longer includes atheists, Unitarian Universalists, 
pagans and Wiccans.

   Hegseth spoke directly to chaplains in his address Wednesday 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?"