Pentagon removes Christian label from LDS after Utah lawmakers' protest
Senator Mike Lee of Utah publicly condemned the Pentagon’s decision to strip the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from the military’s list of Christian faith groups, saying the change should be reversed. Lee posted a video denouncing the policy and urged the defense department to restore the LDS designation. The Department of Defense announced that it had revised its religious affiliation codes for chaplains, removing the “Christian” label from several denominations, including the LDS Church, after criticism from Mormon legislators.
The updated list now classifies those groups under a broader “religious” category rather than as a distinct Christian tradition. KSL reported that the change reflects the Pentagon’s response to the Utah lawmakers’ objections and marks a restructuring of the military’s faith-based classification system.
