The Department of Defense moved this week to dramatically reduce the number of recognized religions, faiths and belief systems from more than 200 all the way to 31.
The move was announced to troops in a memo signed by Anthony Tata, under secretary of defense for personnel and readiness of the United States, and shared with USA TODAY by the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF).
In the memo, Tata says that the move comes at the direction of Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth, who said the move was done to “streamline the DoW collection of religious preferences collection for service members to enhance the delivery of targeted religious support from the Chaplaincy.”
Founder and President of the MRFF, Mikey Weinstein, called the move to reduce the number of recognized religions a direct hit on the Constitution's First Amendment.