Senator Mike Lee Defends Religious Freedom After Pentagon Erases LDS Church from Military List
Select a version of the text written from a presumed ideological perspective. This is not the original text, but a hypothetical version — how someone with that viewpoint might have phrased it. Tapping the current version again will return to the original or select cleaned version.
Senator Mike Lee condemned the Pentagon for stripping the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from the military’s list of Christian faith groups, calling the move an attack on religious liberty and demanding immediate reversal.
Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) forcefully condemned Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth after the Pentagon’s latest revision erased the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from the list of Christian faith groups recognized by the U.S. military. Lee, a devout member of the LDS Church, posted a video on X demanding answers and urging the department to immediately undo this offensive change. He declared that the omission was a direct insult to his faith and to service members who share it, calling on the Pentagon to 'tear down that wall' and restore religious freedom for all.
Utah Senator John Curtis also blasted the policy as unacceptable, joining Lee in demanding a reversal. The Pentagon’s overhaul slashed the number of religious affiliation codes from over 200 to just 31, lumping many faiths into vague, generic categories. This move affected not only Christians, but also atheists, humanists, pagans, and Unitarians, and has sparked outrage in Utah, the heartland of the LDS Church.
Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell tried to downplay the controversy, claiming the restructuring was merely administrative and meant to help chaplains provide spiritual care. But many see this as yet another example of the federal government’s disregard for religious traditions and the rights of service members to be recognized for their beliefs.