Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced the creation of a new Pentagon Office of Religious Affairs during his “State of the Force” address at Marine Corps Base Quantico.
Speaking to junior officers and enlisted leaders, Hegseth said technology, infrastructure and personnel development are not enough without faith, which he described as “the most essential component of our Republic.”
He said frequent relocations can disrupt service members’ religious communities and argued that troops need consistent spiritual support wherever they are stationed. “Our department therefore has a sacred duty — first-class religious support wherever we send our warriors,” he said.
Hegseth also criticized previous administrations, saying political correctness and “secular humanism” had weakened support for military chaplains. “Budgets were cut. Resourcing and manpower needs were ignored. Base chapels fell apart,” he said. “Decisions about faith and religion were made by secular careerists in cubicles and lawyers running around with red tape.”
“That ends now,” he added. “Today, at my direction, I am establishing the Office of Religious Affairs.”
Hegseth said the new office will report directly to the secretary with “no staff filters, no bureaucratic dilution.” He said it would not be a “paper pushing shop” and “will have real teeth” to defend funding, press for infrastructure and strengthen religious support so that “the experts, our chaplains, will finally have an advocate at the highest levels.”
Quoting Psalm 33:12 — “Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD” — Hegseth connected the initiative to the nation’s founding and the Continental Congress’ creation of the Chaplain Corps in 1775.
“Our department is, you might say, putting on the full armor of God,” he said. “Because while we wage physical war, we all know the real battle is spiritual. God is good. Evil is not. America’s military must understand the difference.”
He ended with a message to military chaplains: “Live your calling. Stand firm. Preach Truth. Minister to the flock. Fear no man.”
The office is one of six initiatives Hegseth has introduced after moving in March to reduce the number of faith-code identifiers used to mark service members’ religious affiliations from more than 200 to 31. At the time, Hegseth said the changes were intended to address what he called an infection of “political correctness and secular humanism” in the Army Chaplain Corps.
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, welcomed the announcement, telling EWTN News that it hopes the office “will enhance and strengthen the support offered to the men, women and their families who serve in the military, and to the chaplain corps who strive to accompany our soldiers, sailors, and airmen across all service branches.”
Rachel Laser, president and CEO of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, criticized the move and accused Hegseth of leading a “crusade” in the military.
“The Department of Defense owes it to the nation’s service members to defend religious freedom as promised in our Constitution — a freedom they risk their lives protecting for all of us. Hegseth’s latest announcement violates that promise by elevating Christianity to an even higher role in shaping U.S. military policy,” Laser said.
