The Department of Defense has significantly narrowed the number of religious affiliations it officially tracks for U.S. troops, cutting the list from more than 200 faiths down to just 31.

The move has been described by officials as an administrative change designed to simplify what had become an “unmanageable” system and to help military chaplains better allocate resources.

However, the decision has triggered backlash among some lawmakers, not only over the removal of roughly 180 faith categories, but also over how certain religions are classified in the revised system, such as The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS).

Under the previous system, service members could select from a highly detailed list that included affiliations, spiritual movements and secular identities.

The Remaining Faiths

Below are the 31 faiths that the Pentagon is keeping as religious codes, with membership by percentage of the population, according to a list shared by Sean Parnell, assistant to U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, in a post on X. All references are sourced from Pew Research Center unless stated.

1. No Religion (NR)—around 29 percent of U.S. adults are religiously unaffiliated.
2. Christian—Evangelical (EV)—almost 25 percent of U.S. adults are Evangelical Protestant.
3. Christian—Catholic (CA)—around 20 percent of Americans are Catholic.
4. Christian—Non-Denominational (ND)—around 6 percent of Americans worship in a non-denominational church, according to the Hartford Institute for Religion Research.
5. Christian—Methodist (ME)—approximately 3 percent of Americans are Methodist.
6. Christian—Pentecostal (PE)—around 3 percent of Americans are Pentecostalists.
7. Judaism (Jewish) (JU)—about 2 percent of Americans are Jewish.
8. Christian—Lutheran (LU)—approximately 1 percent of Americans are Lutherans.
9. Islam (Muslim) (IS)—around 1 percent of Americans are Muslim.
10. Christian—Baptist (BA)—approximately 1 percent of Americans are Baptist.
11. Christian—Presbyterian (PR)—about 1 percent of Americans identify as members of the Presbyterian Church.
12. Christian—Episcopal/Anglican (EA)—around 1 percent of Americans identify as members of the Episcopal Church.
13. Christian—Church of Christ (CC)—approximately 1 percent of Americans identify as members of the Church of Christ.
14. Christian—Church of God (CG)—around 1 percent of Americans identify as members of the Church of God.
15. Christian—Orthodox (OX)—around 1 percent of Americans are Orthodox Christians.
16. Hindu (HI)—about 1 percent of Americans are Hindu.
17. Buddhism (BU)—approximately 1 percent of Americans are Buddhist.
18. Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (CJ)—around 1 percent of Americans affiliate with this church.
19. Christian—Assemblies of God (AG)—around 1 percent of Americans identify as members of the Assemblies of God.
20. Christian—Church of the Nazarene (CN)—around 0.6 percent Americans are part of the Church of the Nazarene, according to the church's website.
21. Christian—Seventh Day Adventist (SA)—approximately 0.5 percent of Americans identify as Seventh-Day Adventists.
22. Agnostic (AN)—around 0.5 percent of Americans identify as agnostics.
23. Christian—Jehovah’s Witnesses (JW)—less than 1 percent of Americans identify as Jehovah's Witnesses.
24. Baha’i Faith (BH)—more than 0.05 percent Americans are members of the Baha’i Faith, according to bahaipedia.org.
25. Christian—Reformed (RE)—over 0.03 percent of Americans are part of the Christian Reformed Church, according to the Christian Reformed Church.
26. Christian—Brethren (BR)—slightly more than 0.03 percent of Americans are part of the Church of the Brethren, according to brethren.com.
27. Christian—Quaker (QU)—over 0.03 percent of Americans identify as Quakers, according to Encyclopaedia Britannica.
28. Sikh (SI)—around 0.02 percent of Americans are Sikhs.
29. Christian—Scientist (SC) No data.
30. Christian—Other (CO) No data.
31. Other Religions (OR) No data.

Backlash To the Changes

The reduction in tracking codes has impacted numerous minority faith groups and belief systems. Beyond the reclassification issues facing the LDS, dozens of distinct designations were eliminated or consolidated into broader umbrella categories.

• Discontinued Individual Tracking for Specific Categories: Atheism, Humanism, Wicca, Paganism, and Unitarian Universalism.
• Consolidated Classifications: Affected service members are now directed to register under generalized designations such as “Agnostic,” “No Religion,” or “Other Religions,” while various traditional Christian denominations have been grouped under broader headers without specifying individual branches.

Two Utah lawmakers have been among the most vocal critics after the Pentagon declined to classify The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as Christian in the updated system. Republican Senators Mike Lee and John Curtis called the decision “unacceptable,” arguing it contradicts the church’s identity and raises broader concerns about government categorization of religion.

However, defense officials have emphasized that the new list is not meant to endorse or delegitimize any religion, but simply to improve logistics and chaplain support. “This decrease in religious affiliation codes is not designed to make any claims on the legitimacy of any faith,” Parnell wrote on X.