Pentagon Launches Office of Religious Affairs Reporting to Hegseth After 180 Religious Codes Removed

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says less than 5% of the force is nonreligious as he builds a faith office with its own budget (Credit: Gage Skidmore/Wikimedia Commons)

The Pentagon has created an Office of Religious Affairs reporting directly to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who announced it on 30 September at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia and called faith the 'most essential component of our republic'.

The new office arrives with firm fiscal deadlines. A 30 September memorandum orders the office to submit an initial 2027 baseline budget to Hegseth within 60 days. Within 90 days, the military departments must report all unfunded and underfunded religious requirements.