Pentagon updates religious classification list after sparking criticism from Utah’s Mormon senators

The Pentagon updated its religious classification list on Monday after reducing the number of affiliation codes from over 200 to 31. This initial reduction, intended to help military chaplains streamline religious support services, drew criticism from Utah senators. The lawmakers were upset that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints was not listed as Christian. Consequently, the Defense Department revised the categories to address the objections raised by the Mormon representatives regarding the classification.