Pentagon slashes military religious affiliation options from over 200 to 30; Marines given deadline to update records

Published Aug 11, 07:07 PM UTC

The Pentagon has released an updated list of religious affiliations for U.S. service members, reducing the available self-identification options from over 200 to just 30. The Marine Corps announced that Marines have until September 30, 2026, to update their personnel records to reflect the new condensed list, which groups many individual faith identities into broader categories. The change is part of a wider overhaul of the military's religious programs and chaplaincy under Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, who has also ordered chaplains to remove rank insignia from their uniforms and scrapped the Army Spiritual Fitness Guide. A Pentagon spokesman stated the shift aims to help chaplains understand unit composition, not to delegitimize beliefs. The Marine Corps administrative message acknowledged that some previously authorized designations are no longer individually represented and instructed Marines to choose the 'most appropriate' identity.