The Freedom From Religion Foundation is responding to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s sweeping changes to the U.S. military’s Chaplain Corps and religious affiliation system.

In a video posted on Dec. 16, Hegseth claimed that the Chaplain Corps has been “weakened” and “degraded” by what he called “political correctness” and “Secular Humanism.” He also attacked the Army’s 112-page “Spiritual Fitness Guide” for not actively promoting Christianity, criticizing it for mentioning “God” only once while referencing emotional health concepts such as “feelings” and “playfulness” more frequently.

Hegseth announced that he would sign directives to eliminate use of the “Spiritual Fitness Guide” immediately, “simplify” faith and belief codes used by service members, and elevate “spiritual well-being” to the same footing as physical and mental health as part of a broader “top-down cultural shift.” FFRF cautions that such moves could undermine religious liberty protections for numerous service members.

FFRF has sent Hegseth a letter objecting to these actions and has filed a Freedom of Information Act request seeking all records related to the directives, internal communications about chaplaincy reform, and any planned changes to religious affiliation coding practices.

“Chaplains exist to ensure the free exercise rights of all service members, not to serve as instruments of religious conformity,” FFRF Legal Counsel Chris Line writes. “Any attempt to transform the chaplaincy into a mechanism for privileging particular religious doctrines or encouraging service members to believe in a particular religion would violate service members’ constitutional rights and undermine the very purpose of the corps.”

FFRF says that Hegseth’s public framing of “spiritual” readiness is especially troubling given that the nonreligious make up at least a quarter of service members, yet such service members are underrepresented and underserved in military chaplaincy. Although secular humanist chaplains serve successfully in prisons, hospitals and universities nationwide, humanist and nontheist chaplains are not currently permitted in the military chaplaincy system.

FFRF emphasizes that the U.S. Supreme Court has repeatedly held that the First Amendment requires governmental neutrality “between religion and religion, and between religion and nonreligion.” In the military, where chains of command and coercive power structures are uniquely intense, even subtle favoritism can produce unconstitutional pressure and exclusion.

Meanwhile, FFRF’s letter notes, the Army’s “Spiritual Fitness Guide” appropriately recognizes that resilience and purpose can arise from many sources, including family, community, integrity, shared purpose and service — not just religious belief.

“Secretary Hegseth is openly framing government chaplaincy as a tool for enforcing his preferred theology,” says FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor. “The military exists to defend the Constitution, not to promote religion. Any attempt to privilege one faith tradition or marginalize nonreligious service members threatens the First Amendment rights of the very people who serve.”

FFRF believes transparency is essential, particularly when policy changes could threaten service members’ constitutional rights.

“Service members must not be treated as pawns in a culture war,” Gaylor adds. “They deserve leadership that respects conscience — religious or not — and that upholds the secular Constitution they swore to defend.”

The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a U.S.-based nonprofit dedicated to defending the constitutional principle of separation between state and church and educating the public on matters relating to nontheism. With about 42,000 members, FFRF is the largest association of freethinkers (atheists, agnostics and humanists) in North America. For more information, visit ffrf.org.

The post FFRF demands records after Hegseth targets chaplains for not pushing Christianity appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.