GOP senator revolts over Hegseth’s ‘unacceptable’ religious decree

Sen. John Curtis (R-UT) lashed out Saturday at Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s office over a “significant change” it instituted regarding the classifications of religions, one he argued was “unacceptable” and that he was actively working to correct.This week, the Department of Defense announced that it had significantly reduced the number of recognized religions within the agency, down from more than 200 to 31. The change, according to Sean Parnell, Hegseth’s assistant for public affairs, was to allow “religious support personnel to better provide spiritual care to our warfighters.”The issue, Curtis claimed, was that in whittling down the number of recognized religions, Hegseth’s office had declared the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints – commonly referred to as the Mormon Church – to not be a Christian religion.“Latter-day Saints are among the most patriotic, service-oriented individuals in our country. They are also unequivocally Christian – just look at who is in the name of the Church,” Curtis said in a statement published on social media Saturday. “It is unacceptable for a government entity to characterize a faith in a manner that contradicts the religion’s own foundational tenets. I am working now to ensure a correction is made.”LDS Dems, a prominent Democratic Party caucus for “left-of-center members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,” urged more conservative members of the church to potentially reconsider support for the Trump administration.“Under new military guidance from Pete Hegseth, the LDS Church is officially classified as a non-Christian religion,” reads a social media post from the LDS Dems account on X. “My fellow Saints, you can love these Christian nationalists all you want, but they will not love you back.”Latter-day Saints are among the most patriotic, service-oriented individuals in our country. They are also unequivocally Christian—just look at who is in the name of the Church.It is unacceptable for a government entity to characterize a faith in a manner that contradicts the https://t.co/ywqk59ZtRz— Senator John Curtis (@SenJohnCurtis) June 6, 2026