- War Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered a major overhaul of the military's Chaplain Corps, aiming to refocus it on religious ministry.
- A key immediate action is the elimination of the Army's recently published Spiritual Fitness Guide, criticized by Hegseth for promoting "new age notions" over traditional faith.
- The reforms are framed as a restoration of religious liberty and a reversal of perceived secularization within the armed forces.
- The move follows recent testimony before a presidential commission where chaplains detailed restrictions on religious expression and accommodation.
- Hegseth stated the goal is a "top-down cultural shift" to place spiritual well-being on equal footing with physical and mental health.
In a move signaling a profound shift in military culture, War Secretary Pete Hegseth has launched a sweeping overhaul of the armed forces’ Chaplain Corps, aiming to dismantle what he calls a legacy of “political correctness and secular humanism” and restore traditional religious ministry as its core mission. The announcement, made via a video statement on Tuesday, December 17, targets training materials, administrative codes and the fundamental role of chaplains themselves. This initiative, framed as a critical restoration of religious liberty and spiritual readiness, follows recent congressional testimony detailing years of perceived erosion in religious accommodation for service members.
Scrapping the “new age” playbook
The most immediate and symbolic change is the abrupt termination of the U.S. Army’s Spiritual Fitness Guide. Published just months earlier in August 2025, the 112-page document was developed to bolster service members’ holistic readiness. Secretary Hegseth, however, condemned it as a primary example of the corps’ misplaced priorities. He highlighted that the guide mentioned God only once while referencing “feelings” 11 times and “playfulness” nine times, arguing it replaced virtue with secular self-help. Flanking the video announcement with a physical directive, Hegseth stated he would sign an order that day to eliminate the guide’s use “effective immediately.” An Army spokesperson confirmed the service is “aggressively moving forward” with the secretary’s intent.
Rooted in testimony and history
This administrative action is not an isolated event but a direct response to grievances aired before the Presidential Religious Liberty Commission. At a hearing in Dallas on December 10, retired senior chaplains and religious liberty advocates presented a unified case that chaplains’ roles had been dangerously diluted. Retired Army Chief of Chaplains Maj. Gen. Doug Carver testified that chaplains now face pressure to act as generic morale officers and are sometimes instructed to offer only nonsectarian prayers, which he labeled a violation of religious liberty. The testimony rooted today’s reforms in deep historical precedent, noting that General George Washington himself requested chaplains for the Continental Army, establishing their role as essential from the nation’s earliest military formation.
The coming “top-down cultural shift”
Beyond discarding the fitness guide, Hegseth outlined a broader restructuring. He announced plans to simplify an overly complex system of “faith and belief codes” used to categorize service members’ religious affiliations, which he said had ballooned to over 200 entries. The ultimate goal, he emphasized, is a comprehensive “top-down cultural shift” within the Pentagon—referred to by the administration by its historic name, the War Department. This shift intends to place “spiritual wellbeing on the same footing as mental and physical health,” formally elevating it as a pillar of military readiness. The reforms aim to clarify that chaplains are first and foremost religious ministers, not “emotional support officers” or therapists.
A broader agenda of military readiness
The chaplaincy overhaul aligns with Secretary Hegseth’s consistent and public drive to redefine military priorities, which he directly ties to national security. Since taking office, he has been a vocal advocate for policies he believes sharpen the force’s warfighting focus, including the reinstatement of restrictions on transgender service members. His management style has also emphasized traditional discipline, as evidenced by his earlier, blunt criticisms of physical fitness standards for both rank-and-file troops and senior leadership. The chaplaincy reforms fit within this larger framework, positing that a spiritually resilient force, grounded in traditional religious expression, is a more cohesive and effective force.
Reaffirming a foundational pillar
The transformation of the Chaplain Corps represents a significant philosophical turn for the U.S. military, seeking to unwind decades of policy evolution toward inclusive and secular support structures. Proponents hail it as a long-overdue correction that honors the constitutional free exercise rights of service members and the chaplains who serve them. As these directives move from announcement to implementation, they will test the balance between commanding a unified force and accommodating the diverse faiths—and non-faith—of its members. The outcome will determine whether the chaplaincy is strengthened as a “foundational pillar,” as supporters hope, or becomes a new front in the nation’s enduring debate over the role of religion in public life.
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