As a constitutional believing American, I am furious and appalled that one man can open his mouth and belittle 180 religious beliefs and then have the gall to call it streamlining. Tell that to a dying soldier in need of spiritual comfort from a chaplain who has no clue of their spiritual or religious leaning. Who died and made Hegseth God? 

Dear Neighbor,

I’ve had some serious surgeries in my life, and for those of you who haven’t, you answer question after question at your pre-op. When once asked whether I had anything else to add to the paperwork, I requested that my religious affiliation be noted in case I needed a hospital chaplain. That’s probably a fairly regular ask in the Bible Belt where your religious affiliation is often part of an introduction… “and where do you attend church?… Except forward to 2026 and Secretary of Defense Hegseth’s orders and bingo, my faith, Unitarian Universalist, (originally founded in the 1560’s in Europe) has been removed from the list of the military’s recognized faith codes; along with 179 others. As a constitutional believing American, I am furious and appalled that one man can open his mouth and belittle 180 religious beliefs and then have the gall to call it streamlining. Tell that to a dying soldier in need of spiritual comfort from a chaplain who has no clue of their spiritual or religious leaning. Who died and made Hegseth God? 

For the record, four United States Presidents were Unitarians: John Adams, John Quincy Adams, Millard Fillmore and William Taft. In addition, Thomas Jefferson had theological beliefs that leaned toward Unitarianism and Abraham Lincoln, our only president who never formally joined any church, is described as having had Universalist leanings. (FYI, Mr. Hegseth, core beliefs of Universalism evolved in the 3rd century and as an organized religion in the mid-1700s in Massachusetts) The Universalist Rev. John Murray served as a chaplain during the Revolutionary War. As two of my favorite historians ask most Saturday mornings, “What the heck just happened?” 

My national denomination, the UU Association had this to say on 6/5/26 in response: “We send our unwavering support for Unitarian Universalists (UU) in uniform and our UU military chaplains. We recently learned the Department of Defense (DOD) has removed 180 separate religious affiliations from the US military’s list of religious affiliation codes. This eliminates the code for Unitarian Universalists, as well as Humanists, Atheists and Pagan traditions, and many others. Along with dozens of other religious traditions, UUs will be categorized broadly under “Other” in military’s religious affiliation code.”

The outcry isn’t just from UUs. Congressional Republicans from Utah were appalled that their Mormon faith was not identified with other Christ based religions on the list of Hegseth’s chosen 31. On Monday, after the fury of the Mormons, the Pentagon released a second version of the list, which removed the “Christian” identifier from the various denominations. So while Hegseth still excluded the Church of Latter Day Saints from having a Christian identifier, at least their members serving our country were, and are still, on the list. Meanwhile, 180 other beliefs were “othered” (Merriam Webster – “To be “othered” means to be treated, labeled, or perceived as fundamentally different, alien, or inferior by a dominant social group.”) What does this do to morale within the troops?

It’s not just the deletion of my faith and others that is at issue. As the wife of a Vietnam War era Chaplain Assistant at Arlington National Cemetery, I was part of the chaplaincy family. I feel so sad for the chaplains and assistants providing spiritual and moral resilience in addition to the traditional services. In a military climate that seems headed toward one brand of religion, Hegseth’s monthly services already lean away from an inclusive interfaith space for worship. Since these services are held during the work day and are broadcast live within the Pentagon, they are a significant departure from military norms regarding the separation of church and state and, I believe, an insult to our Constitution. His new removal of 180 beliefs from military affiliation codes is just one more step toward an erosion of our First Amendment.  

Maybe Mr. Hegseth needs to stop playing fast and loose as he takes aim at my chosen faith and 179 others in this, our United States of America. I suggest he read the writing of our forefathers as they contemplated the serious business of leading and take a clue from this translation of the Hippocratic oath: “I will follow that system of regimen which, according to my ability and judgment, I consider for the benefit of my patients, and abstain from whatever is deleterious and mischievous.”  Our soldiers deserve more consideration than this. 

“Dear Neighbor” authors are united in a belief that civility and passion can coexist. We believe curiosity and conversation make us a better community.