By The Epoch Times | Created at 2026-10-01 03:42:04 | Updated at 2026-10-01 04:34:25
1 hour ago
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth speaks to senior military leaders at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia on Sept. 30, 2025. Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
The Department of War established an office dedicated to religious affairs that reports directly to Secretary of War Pete Hegseth to “strengthen the moral, ethical, and spiritual readiness of our warfighters,” the secretary announced Sept. 30.
The Office of Religious Affairs will have a director who will be the deputy secretary of war for religious affairs across the department, according to the notice.
The office will serve service members, their families, and the department’s civilian personnel in the free exercise of religion as protected by the Constitution, the notice states.
Hegseth announced the creation of the office at his annual State of the Force address at Marine Corps Base Quantico Wednesday.
The secretary also announced several sweeping military reforms targeting diversity initiatives, the addition of a new drone command, and a 20 percent cut in the nation’s generals and admirals.
The special office dedicated to religious matters will prioritize a part of life in the military that has been ignored in the past, Hegseth said.
“When you actually look at the numbers, less than 5 percent of our force identifies as non-religious—meaning 95 percent of our force recognizes an all-mighty God,” Hegseth told the audience during his speech.
“Accordingly, our department, therefore, has a sacred duty. … For far too long, we didn’t prioritize that duty at all,” Hegseth said. “It was an afterthought. Political correctness and secular humanism got a vote. Chaplains did not.”
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell explained details of the office.
“This won’t be a policy shop pushing paper,” Parnell said in a post on X. “It will have real teeth. It will protect budgets, demand infrastructure, and strengthen religious support across the force.”
The office will also offer support team training and education, chapel youth programs, faith-based homeschool support for military families, faith-based initiatives, support department-wide suicide reduction, and contract services from faith-based entities outside the federal government, according to the War Department.
The director will also oversee research, technology, and spiritual fitness and readiness.
Members of the military listen as Secretary of War Pete Hegseth gives a State of the Force address at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia on Sept. 30, 2026. Alex Wong/Pool Photo via AP
Hegseth announced plans to make changes to the Chaplain Corps in December 2025 to revive the “spiritual backbone” of the military. His plan was to condense the Faith and Belief Code system, recenter the focus of chaplains, and eliminate what he called the “unacceptable and unserious” Army Spiritual Fitness Guide.
