US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth Establishes New Office of Religious Affairs Reporting Directly to Him at Pentagon

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has announced the creation of a new Office of Religious Affairs (ORA) at the Pentagon, which will report directly to him. This move is seen as the latest in a series of reforms by Hegseth, who has infused his evangelical Christian faith into his leadership of the Defense Department, including hosting worship services and frequently referring to the United States as a Christian nation.

In his speech, Hegseth stated, “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.” This initiative follows previous actions such as organizing worship services for employees and often speaking of the United States as a Christian nation.

Highlights

• The Office of Religious Affairs (ORA) will advocate for military chaplains and religious support at the highest level of the Department.
• The office will not “compel religious participation, favor one faith, or diminish the rights of personnel of any faith or lack thereof.”
• Hegseth has ordered chaplains to wear religious insignia instead of rank on their uniforms.
• The number of officially recognized religious affiliations by the Pentagon has been slashed from over 200 to 31, excluding atheists, Unitarian Universalists, pagans, and Wiccans.
• The new office will also focus on “faith-based initiatives supporting Department-wide suicide reduction.”

Details

According to a Pentagon statement, the Office of Religious Affairs (ORA) will advocate for military chaplains and religious support at the highest level of the Department. However, the statement also noted that the office will not “compel religious participation, favor one faith, or diminish the rights of personnel of any faith or lack thereof.” Despite this, Rachel Laser, head of Americans United for Separation of Church, which has previously sued the Pentagon over its worship services, claims that Hegseth’s latest announcement violates the promise to defend religious freedom by elevating Christianity to an even higher role in shaping US military policy.

Other federal agencies have had religious or faith-based offices, established under President George W. Bush and continued in different forms under the Obama and Biden administrations. However, Shaun Casey, who led the State Department’s Office of Religion and Global Affairs during the Obama administration, stated that his office did not promote religion or spiritual well-being but rather sought to understand the political implications of lived religion in various global hotspots.

Why it matters

The establishment of this new office raises significant questions about the role of religion within the US military and the scope of religious freedoms. Hegseth's efforts to integrate his Christian faith into Pentagon policies, particularly through changes to chaplain uniforms and the reduction in recognized religious affiliations, prompt concerns about how this will impact the military's diversity and its principle of impartiality towards all faiths. Furthermore, the emphasis on faith-based approaches to suicide prevention is also a notable aspect of this new initiative.