Tata Revises Defense Department Recognized Religions List to 31
The defense department recognized religions list now includes 31 faith and belief codes, down from 211, after a May 20, 2026 memorandum signed by Anthony Tata. The revision gives chaplains a narrower set of categories to use when recording service members’ religious preferences and planning support.
The memorandum says the change was ordered by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and directs the previously used codes to be revised within 60 days. Tata wrote that the new list would let chaplains have clear, readily available information to better anticipate service members’ religious support needs and provide activities aligned with their personal faith and practices.
May 20, 2026 memorandum
Tata, the under secretary of defense for personnel and readiness, signed the memorandum issued by the Under Secretary of War. It reduced the number of recognized religious faiths and belief systems by approximately 180, from 211 to 31, making it the first official revision of the list in almost 10 years. The prior memo dated March 27, 2017 had expanded the list to standardize and better identify religious preferences recognized by the military services.
Faith codes kept and dropped
The revised list includes Agnostics, Buddhists, Hindus, Islam, Judaism, Sikh, and a range of Christian-based groups, including Baptists, Catholics, Lutherans, and Methodists. It excludes Atheists, Asatru, Deists, Druids, Eckankar, Heathens, Humanists, Magick, New Age churches, Pagan, Rosicrucianism, Shaman, Spiritualists, Troth, Unitarian Universalists, and various Wiccans.
That change leaves service members in excluded groups without a code on the new list for their stated faith or worldview. The memo ties the revision to chaplaincy planning and religious preference collection, so the practical effect falls on how those records are entered and how support is organized across the force.
Chaplaincy planning shift
Tata’s memo says the new list will provide chaplains with information that better enables them to anticipate religious support needs and deliver support activities that align with service members’ personal faith and practices. The 60-day revision deadline means the new coding system is meant to be implemented quickly, not phased in over a long period.
For service members whose beliefs appear on the new list, the change keeps their categories in place. For those whose faiths were removed, the immediate issue is whether their preferences will still be captured through another process after the list is rewritten.
