Military reduces faith codes to address 'political correctness,' 'secular humanism'

In reforms meant to address an infection of "political correctness and secular humanism" in the Army Chaplain Corps, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced Tuesday that the number of alphanumeric faith code identifiers used to mark a service member’s religious affiliation to help military chaplains support them will be reduced from more than 200 to just 31.

Hegseth, who announced the reforms in a video post on social media, also directed military chaplains — all of whom are officers — to replace the rank insignia on their uniforms with their religious insignia.

"The previous system had ballooned to well over 200 faith codes. … It was impractical and unusable, and many codes were never used at all," Hegseth said about the military's massive faith code system.

He said that while 82% of service members identify as religious, they only use six of those codes, which will now be known as "religious affiliation codes."  Reducing the religious affiliation codes to 31 is expected to better align with the original intent of their creation.

"This brings the codes in line with its original purpose, giving chaplains clear, usable information so they can minister to service members in a way that aligns with that service member's faith background and religious practice," Hegseth said.

The secretary also said replacing the rank insignia on chaplains' uniforms with their religious insignia is meant to highlight the "difficult balance of the duality" in their roles.

"A chaplain is first and foremost a chaplain, and an officer second. This change is a visual representation of that fact," he noted

"Specifically unique to the role of a chaplain, they are first and foremost called and ordained by God. And, while they will retain rank as an officer to those they serve, their rank will not be visible.”

Highlighting the religious insignia of chaplains over their rank insignia is also meant to ease any anxiety junior officers or enlisted personnel might feel about seeking counsel from them about sensitive issues.

“As I reported to you in December, in previous administrations, our Chaplain Corps was infected by political correctness and secular humanism. The core functions of the Chaplain Corps were changed and watered down until many viewed them as nothing more than therapists. Faith and virtue were traded for self-help and self-care. We started correcting that drift then, and today, we’re going further,” Hegseth said.

“The crucible of combat tests more than the body. It tests conviction, character, and spirit. The military’s Chaplain Corps serves as the spiritual and moral backbone of our nation’s armed forces. Chaplains help forge spiritual readiness across the force. And that matters because in combat, in crisis, and in loss, a war fighter needs more than a coping mechanism,” he added.

“They need truth, big T truth. They need conviction. They need a shepherd.”