The U.S. Department of Defense recently found itself at the center of an unexpected religious controversy after restructuring the way it categorizes faith groups within the military. In an effort to simplify its system, the Pentagon reduced more than 200 religious affiliation codes to just 31 broader categories. The initial version of the new list grouped many denominations under explicitly Christian classifications, including Catholics, Baptists, Lutherans, Methodists, Presbyterians, Orthodox Christians, and Jehovah's Witnesses. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, however, appeared outside those Christian categories. miltary.com The reaction from many Latter-day Saints was immediate. ABC4 Utah Utah politicians publicly criticized the change, church members voiced their frustration online, and critics of Mormonism pointed to the classification as evidence that even the federal government did not view the faith as Christian. Facing mounting criticism, the Department of ...
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