Trump's week in review: Pentagon reverses Mormon designation; Secure America Act signed

By Ryan Foley, Christian Post Reporter
Friday, June 12, 2026

A sign reading "Department of War" is displayed at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., on March 31, 2026. U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said Tuesday that talks on ending the Iran war are making progress even as the more than month-long U.S.-Israeli military campaign against the Islamic republic continued. "They are very real. They are ongoing, they are active, and I think, gaining strength," Hegseth told reporters of the negotiations. | Oliver Contreras/AFP via Getty Images

1. Pentagon reverses exclusion of Mormons

In a statement Monday, the U.S. Department of War announced it had revised a list of recognized religions for military personnel following pushback over the listing of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as separate from other Christian denominations.

The list initially circulated within the government agency reduced the number of recognized faiths from 211 to 31.

“Last week, a proposed list of simplified faith codes was released to the media. The Pentagon list included redundant and unnecessary labeling, and the mistake has been fixed,” the Department of War said in a statement shared with The Christian Post. “The goal of this effort is to simplify a previously out-of-control ‘belief’ coding system that had ballooned to over 200 codes.”

The newly revised list includes 31 faith categories that are not further subdivided, which the Pentagon described as part of an effort to “clarify the work of chaplains, and simplify the work of commanders.” Under the previous list, several Christian denominations were preceded by the word “Christian,” and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was not one of them.

“The Pentagon’s job is not to adjudicate theological debates, but instead to ensure sincerely-held faith is respected and encouraged in our ranks,” the Department of War stressed.

While Mormon lawmakers insisted the initial list categorizing the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints separately from other Christian denominations was unfair, other Christians in the public sphere stepped forward to assert that Mormons are not authentically Christian.