Hegseth announces spiritual reforms to make military’s chaplain corps ‘great again’

Department of War Secretary Pete Hegseth announced plans late Tuesday to restore the spiritual strength of the military’s chaplain corps, rejecting humanistic reasoning.

“I’m here to tell you about a real problem facing our nation’s military,” Hegseth said in a video posted on X. “It’s one you’re probably not aware of, but it’s a really important one, and it’s been going on for far too long — the weakening of our chaplain corps.”

The secretary explained how George Washington established the corps in 1775 as one of his first acts as general of the Continental Army, saying heaven’s “blessing and protection” were necessary at all times, but especially “in times of public distress and danger.”

The corps was strong for about 200 years, but in recent decades it has been reduced from being “the spiritual leader of our service members, serving our men and women in times of hardship and ministering to their souls,” to serving as “therapists instead of ministers,” Hegseth said, blaming an environment of “political correctness.”

“Faith and virtue were traded for self-help and self-care,” he said, citing the Army’s Spiritual Fitness Guide as an example. The 112-page document mentions God once and does not mention “virtue,” but says “feelings” 11 times and “playfulness” nine times – “whatever that is,” quipped Hegseth, a former Fox News commentator.

The secretary said he had signed an order, “effective immediately,” eliminating its use. “The guide itself reports that around 82% of the military is religious, yet ironically, it alienates our warfighters of faith by pushing secular humanism,” he said.

Hegseth also ordered the military’s faith and belief coding system be simplified after it “ballooned to over 200 overly complex faith and belief codes.” The vast majority of the military uses one of six codes, he said, likely encompassing major religions such as Christianity and Judaism, and 11 of the codes “are not used by anyone.”

The Defense Department – which was renamed Department of War under Hegseth and President Donald Trump this year – approved a list of 221 recognized religious denominations and belief systems in 2017, including “obscure Christian sects, Wiccans and atheists,” Stars and Stripes reported.

Hegseth, an outspoken Christian who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, said he would announce more reforms “in the days and weeks ahead.”

“There will be a top-down cultural shift putting spiritual well-being on the same footing as mental and physical health,” he said. “As a first step toward creating a supportive environment for our warriors and their souls, we’re going to restore the esteemed position of chaplains as moral anchors for our fighting force.”

There are an estimated 3,000 to 4,000 military chaplains across all branches, according to the Daily Signal.