Hegseth quotes Psalm 33 in 'Office of Religious Affairs' announcement

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth heralded the creation of the Pentagon's new Office of Religious Affairs by quoting from the Psalms, an announcement that drew criticism from secularist advocates and support from a Catholic archdiocese. 

During his “State of the Force” address Wednesday at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Hegseth told junior officers and enlisted leaders that advanced technology, new bases and improved officer pipelines remain incomplete without faith, which he called “the most essential component of our Republic.”

Pointing to the disruption that frequent moves cause in service members’ religious communities, Hegseth said troops need spiritual guidance wherever they serve.

“Our department therefore has a sacred duty — first-class religious support wherever we send our warriors,” he said.

Hegseth criticized past administrations, saying political correctness and “secular humanism” had sidelined chaplains.

“Budgets were cut. Resourcing and manpower needs were ignored. Base chapels fell apart,” he said. “Decisions about faith and religion were made by secular careerists in cubicles and lawyers running around with red tape.”

“That ends now,” he added. “Today, at my direction, I am establishing the Office of Religious Affairs."

He said the office will report directly to the secretary with “no staff filters, no bureaucratic dilution.” He warned it wouldn’t be a “paper pushing shop” and “will have real teeth” to protect budgets, demand infrastructure and strengthen religious support so that “the experts, our chaplains, will finally have an advocate at the highest levels.”

Quoting Psalm 33:12 — “Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD” — Hegseth linked the move to the nation’s founding and the Continental Congress' establishment of the Chaplain Corps in 1775.

“Our department is, you might say, putting on the full armor of God,” he said. “Because while we wage physical war, we all know the real battle is spiritual. God is good. Evil is not. America’s military must understand the difference.”

He closed with a charge to military chaplains: “Live your calling. Stand firm. Preach Truth. Minister to the flock. Fear no man.”

Progressive and secularist critics quickly condemned the announcement as the latest evidence of Christian nationalist influence in the military.

Rep. Jared Huffman, D-Calif., a self-identified atheist and co-chair of the Congressional Freethought Caucus, said it was “no accident” that Hegseth used the word “establish.”

“Hegseth is a full-throttle Christian nationalist who hates separation of church and state,” Huffman wrote on X. “He chips away at it all the time — through his monthly Christian church service at the Pentagon auditorium, his endless proselytizing, by removing religious minority faith codes from the Chaplaincy program. … The road to Gilead is paved with dystopic crap like this.”

Supporters of the new office see it as necessary to handle affairs related to chaplains, religious exemptions and other matters concerning religious service members and do not believe it violates the U.S. Constitution's prohibition of the establishment of a state religion. 

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, was appreciative of the announcement, telling EWTN News that it hopes the new office “will enhance and strengthen the support offered to the men, women and their families who serve in the military, and to the chaplain corps who strive to accompany our soldiers, sailors, and airmen across all service branches.”

“Placing spiritual readiness alongside other departmental priorities, and shortening the timeline between identified field needs and senior decisions can have the practical effect of resolving legacy constraints that historically limited chaplaincy support,” the statement said. “This Archdiocese appreciates the initiative and welcomes its implementation.”

Rachel Laser, president and CEO of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, issued a statement Wednesday accusing Hegseth of leading a “crusade" on the military.

“The Department of Defense owes it to the nation’s service members to defend religious freedom as promised in our Constitution — a freedom they risk their lives protecting for all of us. Hegseth’s latest announcement violates that promise by elevating Christianity to an even higher role in shaping U.S. military policy,” Laser said.

Laser contends that the move, combined with prior actions such as narrowing recognized faith codes and hosting predominantly Christian prayer services at the Pentagon, makes clear that “Hegseth is advancing a Christian Nationalist agenda in the military."

"We need a national recommitment to separate church and state — our democracy depends on it and our service members deserve it," she said.

The new office is one of six initiatives unveiled by Hegseth after he moved in March to reduce the number of alphanumeric faith code identifiers used to mark a service member’s religious affiliation from more than 200 to just 31.

Hegseth said at the time that the reforms were meant to address an infection of “political correctness and secular humanism” in the Army Chaplain Corps.