Mormons not Christian (according to new military list)

[Nofear]

https://www.sltrib.com/religion/2026/06/06/lds-church-left-off-defense/

Jehovah Witnesses made the list as Christian - [item]
Latter-day Saints are listed as a separate category.

[webbles]

The previous set of categories didn't mark faiths as "Christian".  I can't find a page that lists them in text, but I found https://www.scribd.com/document/346253841/Faith-and-Belief-Codes-of-the-DOD which is an image of a memorandum with the updated list as of 2017.

This new list now prepends "Christian" in front of a bunch of denominations but also contains other denominations.  This is the new list:

• Agnostic (AN)
• Baha'i faith (BH)
• Buddhism (BU)
• Christian - Assemblies of God (AG)
• Christian - Baptist (BA)
• Christian - Brethren (BR)
• Christian - Catholic (CA)
• Christian - Church of Christ (CC)
• Christian - Church of God (CG)
• Christian - Church of the Nazarene (CN)
• Christian - Episcopal/Anglican (EA)
• Christian - Evangelical (EV)
• Christian - Jehovah's Witnesses (JW)
• Christian - Lutheran (LU)
• Christian - Methodist (ME)
• Christian - Non Denominational (ND)
• Christian - Orthodox (OX)
• Christian - Other (CO)
• Christian - Pentecostal (PE)
• Christian - Presbyterian (PR)
• Christian - Quaker (QU)
• Christian - Reformed (RE)
• Christian - Scientist (SC)
• Christian - Seventh Day Adventist (SA)
• Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (CJ)
• Hindu (HI)
• Islam (Muslim) (IS)
• Judaism (Jewish) (JU)
• No Religion (NR)
• Other Religions (OR)
• Sikh (SI)

[Navidad]

I think there is much to be learned about this before we know "the truth" about it. I predict there will be some clarification or change in this. Could it be that those creating the list sought the advice of someone in the LDS church who requested a different "label" that all other Christian groups? Perhaps someone in the Church requested a unique and separate listing from all of the rest? I have had conversations with members of the LDS church who prefer not to be considered as Christian because of their unique claims to unique truth and status with the Savior. It will be interesting to watch how this works out.  I think we might have some here on the forum who reject the identity as Christian to separate from identity with other run-of-the-mill non-pleasing to Christ Christians. 

[Rain]

4 minutes ago, Navidad said:

I think there is much to be learned about this before we know "the truth" about it. I predict there will be some clarification or change in this. Could it be that those creating the list sought the advice of someone in the LDS church who requested a different "label" that all other Christian groups? Perhaps someone in the Church requested a unique and separate listing from all of the rest? I have had conversations with members of the LDS church who prefer not to be considered as Christian because of their unique claims to unique truth and status with the Savior.

This is the oddest thing to me and tells me they haven't read their Book of Mormon very closely.

 

Alma 46:15

And those who did belong to the church were faithful; yea, all those who were true believers in Christ took upon them, gladly, the name of Christ, or Christians as they were called, because of their belief in Christ who should come

4 minutes ago, Navidad said:

It will be interesting to watch how this works out.  I think we might have some here on the forum who reject the identity as Christian to separate from identity with other run-of-the-mill non-pleasing to Christ Christians. 

 

[MiserereNobis]

American Christian Nationalists are not your friends (nor friends of Catholicism, either).

[Navidad]

8 minutes ago, MiserereNobis said:

American Christian Nationalists are not your friends (nor friends of Catholicism, either).

Agreed. Nor are they the friends of the vast number of Evangelicals, since they are by and large, Fundamentalists! 

[InCognitus]

4 hours ago, webbles said:

This new list now prepends "Christian" in front of a bunch of denominations but also contains other denominations.  This is the new list:

Maybe the issue is much more basic than we are making it out to be. 

Is it possible that some short-sighted software designer created the new database with a limit of only 50 characters for the name of each religion?  There just isn't enough room to fit "Christian" in front of "Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (CJ)".  Besides, Jesus Christ is already part of the name, and fortunately the abbreviation code accounts for that as well (i.e. CJ = Church [of] Jesus).  I think that's better.

[Calm]

5 hours ago, Nofear said:

https://www.sltrib.com/religion/2026/06/06/lds-church-left-off-defense/

Jehovah Witnesses made the list as Christian - [item]
Latter-day Saints are listed as a separate category.

Who prepared it?

[Kenngo1969]

Are we [that is, are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints] Christian?  Yes—at least, as Forrest Gump might put it, "Christian is as Christian does."  We're Christian as much as we act like Christians.  But are we creedal Christians?  As much as we might seek common ground, common cause, and, inasmuch as possible, fellowship with our Christian brothers and sisters of other stripes, this might be where we part ways somewhat.

Edited Sunday at 12:13 PM by Kenngo1969
Purely cosmetic issue; no substantive change

[Calm]

4 hours ago, Navidad said:

I think we might have some here on the forum who reject the identity as Christian to separate from identity with other run-of-the-mill non-pleasing to Christ Christians. 

I have seen that among older Saints, but it seems to me it’s much less common than now.  And asking some random Saint as opposed to calling Salt Lake to get the official POV seems really odd to me.

Hopefully Incognitus is correct and it is simply as issue of space and figuring we would want the entire name.  As long as Jesus Christ is in the name, seems like the default assumption would be Christian.  Haven’t read the article yet, but if the Trib didn’t try to get an explanation for the lack, it’s poor reporting.  The absence of the Trib reporting that as the reason is the only reason I am still thinking it could be prejudice (refusal to accept us) or sloppiness (asking some random Saint rather than getting the official preference).

But it’s also odd to me they feel the need to separate out which are Christian and which aren’t in the listing in the first place.  Who needs to have that kind of additional info? (Serious question) I would hope any chaplains would be familiar with the denominations well enough to already know.

Edited Saturday at 07:46 PM by Calm

[Navidad]

17 hours ago, Calm said:

I have seen that among older Saints, but it seems to me it’s much less common than now.  And asking some random Saint as opposed to calling Salt Lake to get the official POV seems really odd to me.

Hopefully Incognitus is correct and it is simply as issue of space and figuring we would want the entire name.  As long as Jesus Christ is in the name, seems like the default assumption would be Christian.  Haven’t read the article yet, but if the Trib didn’t try to get an explanation for the lack, it’s poor reporting.  The absence of the Trib reporting that as the reason is the only reason I am still thinking it could be prejudice (refusal to accept us) or sloppiness (asking some random Saint rather than getting the official preference).

But it’s also odd to me they feel the need to separate out which are Christian and which aren’t in the listing in the first place.  Who needs to have that kind of additional info? (Serious question) I would hope any chaplains would be familiar with the denominations well enough to already know.

As an American Evangelical, I find this very confusing. I would say it was done by a Fundamentalist, but then no Fundamentalist would list Jehovah Witnesses as Christians. They barely accept Evangelicals as Christians. Something isn't right. Sometimes draft documents get published as final ones. I know that is true from working for years in school districts. We will see. 

Edited Sunday at 01:24 PM by Navidad

[Calm]

42 minutes ago, Navidad said:

I would say it was done by a Fundamentalist, but then no Fundamentalist would list Jehovah Witnesses as Christians.

Exactly…that’s why Incognitus’ reasoning makes the most sense to me.

[Calm]

Read the article.  It’s certainly presenting it as intentional, but that Jehovah Witnesses are listed as Christian, but not LDS is not standard fundamentalist thinking as Navidad pointed out.  The eliminations fit the fundamentalist category though, it seems to me.

Quote

Among those eliminated were Unitarian Universalists, various Wiccans, deists, atheists and others, according to Military.com, the first to report the news.

The explanation…

Quote

“This decrease in religious affiliation codes is not designed to make any claims on the legitimacy of any faith or religious belief, nor is it intended to provide a list of ‘officially approved’ religions,” he wrote. “Rather, it is designed to allow chaplains to quickly look at the religious composition of their units and determine how they structure resources to best provide for warfighters of all faith groups.” 

However, an accompanying video by Hegseth seemed to suggest the change wasn’t entirely one of streamlining bureaucracy. 

“In previous administrations, our Chaplain Corps was infected by political correctness and secular humanism,” he said. “...Faith and virtue were traded for self-help and self-care. We started correcting that drift [in December], and today we’re going further.”

Quote

She told The Salt Lake Tribune on Friday the implications of the coding change were unclear to her and those she knew still serving as chaplains.

“We’re all confused about it,” she said, noting wariness among those she’d spoken to about it as to whether the change represented a step toward curtailing religious accommodation regardless of individual service members’ beliefs.

What else is new, lol….or rather not so lol.  Meaning directions have been confusing, not chaplains are typically confused in case that wasn’t obvious…and yes, I realize this is a political remark, so feel free to ignore as it’s not meant to target one administration, but is a general comment about governments.

Edited Saturday at 09:39 PM by Calm

[Calm]

Read the military.com article, lots more detail and commentary.  They are obviously not happy about the change….and for very good reasons imo if accurate.

https://www.military.com/dod-officially-drops-180-faiths-from-militarys-recognized-religion-list

 

Quote

This restructuring of faith codes, which help identify service members as well as the military in planning for appropriated religious coverage to include them, has now excluded minority faith/worldview groups including Atheists, Asatru, Deists, Druids, Eckankar, Heathens, Humanists, Magick, New Age churches, Pagan, Rosicrucianism, Shaman, Spiritualists, Troth, Unitarian Universalists and various Wiccans.

How is religious liberty and practice helped by making so many religions invisible?

Quote

In December 2025, Hegseth announced his intention “to make the Chaplain Corps great again,” prioritizing religious liberty and practice in the military by executing a “top-down cultural shift, putting spiritual well-being on the same footing as physical and mental health.”

Quote

The individual, who has attempted to correspond up the ranks to the chief of chaplains plus to Hegseth himself, said their studies have found that spiritual abuse or trauma affiliated with religious beliefs and affecting more than 8-in-10 service members can have negative ramifications like post-traumatic stress disorder.

“Having appropriate spiritual care is paramount for their well-being,” they said. “Stripping these codes, stripping the appropriate care aspects and leaving them identified as ‘other’ puts them at a risk of being re-traumatized or re-abused without it being intentional.

“As a licensed counselor and a chaplain and a priest, that is not something that I can idly stand by without pushing back against.”

Quote

“Reducing the number of religious faiths from hundreds down to 31 is another absolute, clear, filthy and disgusting, unconstitutional, immoral and unethical attempt to force only the approved solution, getting closer and closer to Christian nationalism,” Weinstein said.

He compared the new list to the faiths and beliefs identified by the Department of Veterans Affairs, which recognizes more than 220 belief systems and has more than 80 emblems for headstones.

“So, if you're dead, you'll get your emblem,” Weinstein added. “But if you're alive, you can't even get it on your dog tags unless you qualify for one of these faith traditions that in the eyes of Hegseth and other Christian nationalists are worthy of recognition after years of all of the others being there.”

They also contrasted it with the previous Trump administration, implying imo that Trump is just letting Hegseth do what he wants.

Quote

It represents a stark change from the memo administered in 2017, during President Donald Trump’s first term. The Armed Forces Chaplains Board at the time endorsed a faith and belief code expansion “to standardize and better identify religious preferences recognized by the military services.”

That change at the time was said to better expand religious planning for multiple reasons, including better tracking for more accurate demographic data, better planning for religious support for the force, and providing a better assessment of the capabilities and requirements of each military service’s chaplain’s corps.

 

Edited Saturday at 09:40 PM by Calm

[InCognitus]

32 minutes ago, Calm said:

Exactly…that’s why Incognitus’ reasoning makes the most sense to me.

I hope I'm right because it would make more sense to me.  But since I work with software and databases for a living, that's the first thing that came to my mind, THE DUMMIES PROBABLY DIDN'T LEAVE ENOUGH ROOM FOR LONGER NAMES!   

Edited Saturday at 09:40 PM by InCognitus

[Buckeye]

Count me not surprised. But I think our focus on being excluded from the “Christian Club” misses the real intent here. Excluding us is a nice cherry on top. The cake is building an argument that the US is a Christian Nation. 
 

Step 1 - arbitrarily cut the total count of recognized faiths to 31

Step 2 - add the label “Christian” to a majority (21) of the faiths.

Step 3 - repeatedly publish the list, along with the percentage of service members in the Christian conglomeration, to advocate for Christian Nationalism. 
 

[bsjkki]

I get ptsd when understanding how much evangelicals and other Christian faiths denigrate us. Takes me back to my childhood and even awful experiences with anti-Mormon neighbors. My X feed is a disaster today. We would like to be friends, they do not. 

[Buckeye]

If I’m right, I’m happy our faith is excluded as that will lessen the argument for Christian Nationalism. May we continue to stand as a beacon for religious freedom and pluralism. 
https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/church-statement-religious-freedom-pluralism

Edited Saturday at 10:19 PM by Buckeye

[Navidad]

2 hours ago, bsjkki said:

I get ptsd when understanding how much evangelicals and other Christian faiths denigrate us. Takes me back to my childhood and even awful experiences with anti-Mormon neighbors. My X feed is a disaster today. We would like to be friends, they do not. 

I am sorry, but  I can't just sit back and read "how much evangelicals denigrate you." Please tell me which Evangelicals denigrate you? Can you name any Evangelicals from Evangelical universities who denigrate you? Which Evangelical denominations denigrate you? Once again, I must simply suggest you are confusing Evangelicals with Fundamentalists. 

[Navidad]

2 hours ago, Buckeye said:

May we continue to stand as a beacon for religious freedom and pluralism. 

Religious pluralism indicates that you stand as a beacon for various Christian religions that are valid as faith groups. Pluralism, by its very definition implies more than one. Tell me please, which Christian religious groups are valid as faith groups in addition to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints? 

[Navidad]

5 hours ago, Kenngo1969 said:

Are we [that is, are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints] Christian?  Yes--at least, as Forrest Gump might put it, "Christian is as Christian does."  We're Christian as much as we act like Christians.  But are we creedal Christians?  As much as we might seek common ground, common cause, and, inasmuch as possible, fellowship with our Christian brothers and sisters of other stripes, this might be where we oart ways somewhat.

Hey amigo, I ain't no creedal Christian either! Never was; never will be. What percentage of non-LDS, non-Catholic Christians would you guess are creedal?

[Devobah]

11 hours ago, MiserereNobis said:

American Christian Nationalists are not your friends (nor friends of Catholicism, either).

With friends like them, who needs enemies?

[Devobah]

3 hours ago, bsjkki said:

I get ptsd when understanding how much evangelicals and other Christian faiths denigrate us. Takes me back to my childhood and even awful experiences with anti-Mormon neighbors. My X feed is a disaster today. We would like to be friends, they do not. 

That was my mission. Oklahoma was great and horrible because of that. Sure, people wanted to talk to us, but only because they wanted to tell us how wrong we were and how hell is hot. If I had a nickel for every time I heard “eternity is a long time to be wrong” I would pay off my student debts today. 

[Buckeye]

1 hour ago, Navidad said:

Religious pluralism indicates that you stand as a beacon for various Christian religions that are valid as faith groups. Pluralism, by its very definition implies more than one. Tell me please, which Christian religious groups are valid as faith groups in addition to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints? 

All of them. I support including all religious faiths on the pentagon list (and those of no faith). My point is the government should not decide which groups are Christian or not. Just include them all. 

Edited Sunday at 02:21 AM by Buckeye

[Rain]

12 hours ago, Nofear said:

https://www.sltrib.com/religion/2026/06/06/lds-church-left-off-defense/

Jehovah Witnesses made the list as Christian - [item]
Latter-day Saints are listed as a separate category.

They are not listed at all technically. It is the Strangite church that is listed. Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. No dash and it is a capital D.