U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is launching an Office of Religious Affairs at the Pentagon, the latest in a series of faith-related changes he has made at the department.

Hegseth announced the office in a speech Wednesday, saying it will help offer “first-class religious support” and will report directly to him. “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.

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

The office’s leader has not been named. A Pentagon memo said the religious affairs director will coordinate spiritual resources, including “faith-based homeschool support for military families.” The memo also mentions “faith-based initiatives supporting Department-wide suicide reduction.”

Criticism

Criticism surfaced quickly. Rachel Laser, head of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, which has sued the Pentagon over its worship services, said the department “owes it to the nation’s service members to defend religious freedom.” She said the announcement “violates that promise by elevating Christianity to an even higher role in shaping US military policy.”

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 Obama and Biden administrations. President Donald Trump created a White House Faith Office and had a similar effort in his first term.

Shaun Casey, a religion scholar who led the State Department’s Office of Religion and Global Affairs under Obama, 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,” he said.

Hegseth’s earlier changes

Hegseth has infused his evangelical Christianity into his leadership of the Pentagon, hosting worship services for employees and often speaking of the United States as a Christian nation. He has also pushed the military school system to add coursework drawing from conservative and Christian influences.

The military has become increasingly dependent on chaplains in recent years to help address growing numbers of troops in mental health distress. Hegseth has said he wants chaplains to focus more on God and less on therapeutic “self-help and self-care.”

He ordered chaplains, who are commissioned officers, to stop wearing rank on their uniforms and instead be identified by religious insignia. The Defense Department also cut the number of religious affiliations it officially recognizes to 31, from more than 200 previously. The list no longer includes atheists, Unitarian Universalists, pagans and Wiccans.

Speaking directly to chaplains at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia, Hegseth said: “Live your calling. Stand firm. Preach truth. Minister to the flock.” He then quoted the Bible: “The Lord is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do unto me?”

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