Pete Hegseth Creates Pentagon Office Of Religious Affairs: What It Means

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth is creating an Office of Religious Affairs at the Pentagon that will report directly to him, giving religious support and military chaplaincy a new place within the Defence Department.

Hegseth announced the office on Wednesday as part of a series of faith-related reforms at the Pentagon. The Office of Religious Affairs, or ORA, will advocate for military chaplains and religious support “at the highest level of the Department” and coordinate spiritual resources for service members and their families.

The move comes as Hegseth has infused his evangelical Christianity into his leadership of the Pentagon. He has hosted Christian worship services for employees and often spoken of the United States as a Christian nation. Some criticism of the initiative surfaced quickly.

What will the Pentagon’s Office of Religious Affairs do?

The new office will help offer “first-class religious support” and report directly to Hegseth.

According to the Associated Press, the ORA will advocate for military chaplains and religious support “at the highest level of the Department”. A Pentagon statement says it will not “compel religious participation, favor one faith, or diminish the rights of personnel of any faith or lack thereof.”

A Pentagon memo says the religious affairs director will coordinate spiritual resources, including “faith-based homeschool support for military families”. It also mentions “faith-based initiatives supporting Department-wide suicide reduction”.

The leader of the new office has not been named.

Hegseth announced the initiative during a speech at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia.

“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.

What religious changes has Hegseth made at the Pentagon?

The Office of Religious Affairs is part of a wider series of changes involving the military’s chaplain corps.

Military chaplains provide spiritual care to troops and have become increasingly relied upon to help address growing numbers of service members experiencing mental health distress. Hegseth has said he wants chaplains to focus more on God and less on therapeutic “self-help and self-care”.

He has also ordered chaplains, who are commissioned officers, to no longer wear their rank on their uniform. Instead, they will be identified by religious insignia.

The Defence Department has also reduced the number of religious affiliations it officially recognises to 31 from more than 200 previously recognised traditions. The list no longer includes atheists, Unitarian Universalists, pagans and Wiccans.

Hegseth has also pushed the military school system to introduce more coursework that draws from conservative and Christian influences.

Hegseth spoke directly to chaplains during his address at Quantico.

“Live your calling. Stand firm. Preach truth. Minister to the flock,” he said.

He then quoted from the Bible: “The Lord is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do unto me?”

How does the Pentagon office compare with earlier faith initiatives?

Other federal agencies have had religious or faith-based offices, which were established under President George W. Bush and continued in different forms under the administrations of Barack Obama and Joe Biden, according to AP.

President Donald Trump established a White House Faith Office and had a similar effort during his first term.

Shaun Casey, a religion scholar who led the State Department’s Office of Religion and Global Affairs during the Obama administration, said that office did not promote religion or spiritual well-being.

“It was there to understand what were the political implications of lived religion in the various hot spots around the world,” Casey said.

The new Pentagon initiative has faced criticism from Rachel Laser, head of Americans United for Separation of Church, which has sued the Pentagon over its worship services.

“The Pentagon owes it to the nation’s service members to defend religious freedom,” Laser said. “Hegseth’s latest announcement violates that promise by elevating Christianity to an even higher role in shaping U.S. military policy.”

The Pentagon said the office will not “compel religious participation, favor one faith, or diminish the rights of personnel of any faith or lack thereof.”