{"id":2584944,"date":"2026-03-28T16:39:02","date_gmt":"2026-03-28T20:39:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/hegseth-slashes-faith-codes-in-move-to-make-chaplains-the-spiritual-backbone-of-the-us-military\/"},"modified":"2026-03-28T16:43:37","modified_gmt":"2026-03-28T20:43:37","slug":"hegseth-slashes-faith-codes-in-move-to-make-chaplains-the-spiritual-backbone-of-the-us-military","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/hegseth-slashes-faith-codes-in-move-to-make-chaplains-the-spiritual-backbone-of-the-us-military\/","title":{"rendered":"Hegseth Slashes &#8216;Faith Codes&#8217; in Move to Make Chaplains the Spiritual Backbone of the US Military"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">32<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fhegseth-slashes-faith-codes-in-move-to-make-chaplains-the-spiritual-backbone-of-the-us-military%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2584944&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>An article reports that Secretary of War Pete Hegseth is pushing reforms to the Chaplain corps to strengthen its role as the spiritual and moral backbone of the U.S. military. The changes streamline the service\u2019s faith codes from more than 200 to 31, arguing the old system was impractical and largely unused, with most religious <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/white-house-releases-list-of-president-trumps-accomplishments-and-it-is-historic\/\" title=\"White House Releases List of President Trump\u2019s Accomplishments \u2013  And It Is Historic!\">service members<\/a> relying on a small subset. The piece notes that a 2017 Pentagon list had included groups such as Wiccans and atheists, illustrating how broad the previous categorization had become. Hegseth says the reduction realigns codes with the corps\u2019 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/what-you-need-to-know-about-section-230-and-potential-social-media-reforms\/\" title=\"What You Need To Know About Section 230 And Potential Social Media Reforms\">original purpose<\/a>, giving chaplains clear, usable details to minister according to each service member\u2019s faith background. Another reform allows chaplains to display religious insignia on their uniforms rather of rank,signaling that they are first and foremost chaplains,though they retain officer status whose rank will not be visible to those they serve. He stresses that these are early steps toward restoring the chaplains\u2019 esteemed role as moral anchors, with more reforms to come. The article also quotes Hegseth on the importance of faith and spiritual readiness in combat,portraying chaplains as providers of \u201ctruth\u201d and guidance beyond mere self-help.It mentions a <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >related social media post reinforcing<\/a> the reform push.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>Secretary of War Pete Hegseth says his latest reforms will allow the Chaplain Corps to fulfill its mission of being the spiritual backbone of America&rsquo;s military.<\/p>\n<p>The number of faith codes used in the service has been winnowed down to 31, according to a War Department <a href=\"https:\/\/www.war.gov\/News\/News-Stories\/Article\/Article\/4444113\/hegseth-announces-reforms-to-chaplain-corps\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">news release<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>In 2017, the Pentagon issued a list of 221 groups that qualify as a religious group. The list included Wiccans and atheists, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.stripes.com\/branches\/army\/2025-12-17\/hegseth-military-chaplains-20119952.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Stars and Stripes<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The previous system had ballooned to well over 200 faith codes,&rdquo; Hegseth said Tuesday.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;It was impractical and unusable, and many codes were never used at all,&rdquo; Hegseth said, adding that most of the 82 percent of service members who identify as being religious used six of the codes.<\/p>\n<p> <script type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\tif ( getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"anyclipvideo\").remove() \t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\tdocument.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\", function() { \t\t\t\t\tfunction loadAnyclip() { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst container=document.getElementById(\"anyclipvideo\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!container) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst script=document.createElement(\"script\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.src=\"https:\/\/player.anyclip.com\/anyclip-widget\/lre-widget\/prod\/v1\/src\/lre.js\"; \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.setAttribute(\"pubname\", \"westernjournalcom\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.setAttribute(\"widgetname\", \"001w000001jULVcAAO_M12924\");  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ append inside the container so player shows in correct spot \t\t\t\t\t\tcontainer.appendChild(script); \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\tfunction findPreviousParagraph(selector, x) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst targetElement=document.querySelector(selector); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!targetElement) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Target element not found.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Get all <\/p>\n<p> elements in order as they appear in the document \t\t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphs=Array.from(document.querySelectorAll(\"p\"));  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the index of the last <\/p>\n<p> before the target element \t\t\t\t\t\tlet targetIndex=paragraphs.findIndex(p=> p.compareDocumentPosition(targetElement) & Node.DOCUMENT_POSITION_PRECEDING);  \t\t\t\t\t\tif (targetIndex===-1 || targetIndex <x) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Not enough paragraphs before the target element.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\treturn paragraphs[targetIndex - x]; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Set up IntersectionObserver \t\t\t\t\tfunction observeElement(element) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!element) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst observer=new IntersectionObserver( \t\t\t\t\t\t\t(entries)=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tentries.forEach(entry=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tif (entry.isIntersecting) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log(\"Paragraph is now visible:\", entry.target.textContent.trim()); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tloadAnyclip(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.disconnect(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t}, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t{ threshold: 0.5 } \/\/ Adjust threshold as needed \t\t\t\t\t\t);  \t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.observe(element); \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the 1st paragraph before #anyclipvideo and observe it \t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphToObserve=findPreviousParagraph(\"#anyclipvideo\", 2); \t\t\t\t\tobserveElement(paragraphToObserve); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> <\/p>\n<p>The reduction &ldquo;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 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/female-veterans-model-for-calendar-to-raise-funds-for-veteran-hospitals-washington-examiner\/\" title=\"Female veterans model for calendar to raise funds for veteran hospitals ... Washington Examiner\">service member&#038;rsquo<\/a>;s faith background and religious practice,&rdquo; Hegseth said.<\/p>\n<p>Hegseth added that the chaplains will display their religious insignia on their uniforms instead of their ranks.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;A chaplain is first and foremost a chaplain, and an officer second. This change is a visual representation of that fact,&rdquo; he said.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;While they will retain rank as an officer to those they serve, their rank will not be visible.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Hegseth said his Chaplain Corps reforms are not over.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;These two reforms are big progress, but we&rsquo;re not even close to being done. These are the first steps toward restoring the esteemed position of chaplain as moral anchors of our fighting force,&rdquo; Hegseth said.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Theirs is a high and sacred calling, but they can only be successful if they are given the freedom to boldly guide and care for their flock.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">We are (still) making the Chaplain Corps Great Again. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/nlv9KLAVpo\">pic.twitter.com\/nlv9KLAVpo<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Secretary of War Pete Hegseth (@SecWar) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SecWar\/status\/2036504664758169607?\">March 24, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;As I reported to you in December, in previous administrations, our Chaplain Corps was infected by political correctness and secular humanism,&rdquo; Hegseth said in a video <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/SecWar\/status\/2036504664758169607?%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E2036504664758169607%7Ctwgr%5E9c83d249b0f4195d28092643dbd4d5a6bd08891d%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.foxnews.com%2Fmedia%2Fpete-hegseth-slashes-military-faith-codes-from-over-200-31-pentagon-chaplain-corps-overhaul\">posted to X<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;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&rsquo;re going further,&rdquo; Hegseth said.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The crucible of combat tests more than the body. It tests conviction, character, and spirit. The military&rsquo;s Chaplain Corps serves as the spiritual and moral backbone of our nation&rsquo;s armed forces,&rdquo; he continued.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;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,&rdquo; he said.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;They need truth, big T truth. They need conviction. They need a shepherd.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey==typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts={ \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs=[ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i=0; i <inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! ( opts[inputs[i]]=document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"' + inputs[i] + '\"]' ).value ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .required-message' ).style.display='block'; \t\t\t\t\t\treturn; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction input[type=\"submit\"]' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).src=firefly_loading_gif_url; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='inline-block';  \t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( 'ma subbing' );  \t\t\t\t\tif( firefly_post_id ) opts['post_id']=firefly_post_id;  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Send the data using post with element id name and name2*\/ \t\t\t\t\tvar posting=jQuery.post( firefly_ajax_url, opts );  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Alerts the results *\/ \t\t\t\t\tposting.done( function( response ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif( response.success ) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( response.data ); \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-confirm' ).style.display='block';  \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdataLayer.push( { 'event': 'submit-correction' } ); \t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> \t     \t\t\t\t\t\t     \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><script>console.log(\"ad slot (BA1)\")<\/script> \t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8211; Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced reforms to the Chaplain Corps intended to strengthen its role as the spiritual backbone of the U.S. military.<br \/>\n&#8211; A War Department release says the military\u2019s faith-code system has been trimmed from a bloated set (about 200+ codes) down to 31, after which a 2017 Pentagon list included 221 groups, including Wiccans and atheists.<br \/>\n&#8211; Hegseth notes that the old system was impractical and many codes went unused; about 82% of service members who identify as religious used only six codes.<br \/>\n&#8211; In a move to emphasize the chaplains\u2019 primary role, chaplains will wear religious insignia on their uniforms instead of visible ranks; they will still hold officer status, but their rank won\u2019t be visible to those they serve.<br \/>\n&#8211; He says these are big first steps toward restoring chaplains as moral anchors of the armed forces and that more reforms are coming to empower them to guide and care for service members.<br \/>\n&#8211; Hegseth has argued that past administrations allowed political correctness and secular trends to dilute the Chaplain Corps, and he frames these changes as part of a broader effort to strengthen spiritual readiness and conviction within the military<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2584945,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Ben-Working-Feature-Image-2026-03-28T141723.964.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[7582,76731,45173,76732,33489],"class_list":["post-2584944","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-chaplains","tag-faith-codes","tag-hegseth","tag-religious-policy","tag-us-military"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Ben-Working-Feature-Image-2026-03-28T141723.964.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2584944","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2584944"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2584944\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2584948,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2584944\/revisions\/2584948"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2584945"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2584944"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2584944"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2584944"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}