The Department of War revealed immediate changes to the Chaplain Corps as it tries to revive what it called the “spiritual backbone” of the military.
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced on Dec. 16 that his department would condense the Faith and Belief Code system, recenter the focus of chaplains, and eliminate what he called the “unacceptable and unserious” Army Spiritual Fitness Guide.
“I have a directive right here that I will sign today to eliminate the use of the Army Spiritual Fitness Guide effective immediately. These types of training materials have no place in the War Department.”
“In well over 100 pages, it mentions God one time,” Hegseth said. “That’s it. It mentions feelings 11 times. It even mentions playfulness—whatever that is—nine times. There’s zero mention of virtue.”
Hegseth, who served as an infantry officer in the U.S. Army National Guard and was a weekend co-host of “Fox & Friends” before becoming secretary of war in January 2025, criticized the guide’s “new age notions” that said that a soldier’s spirit consisted of “consciousness, creativity, and connection.”
The Army branch, which was established in 1775, was created to offer religious services to the military, but Hegseth suggested that it has gone in the wrong direction and said he wants to refocus the role of faith in the military branch.
The Faith and Belief Code system will also be simplified, as Hegseth claimed that the majority of military personnel use only six of the more than 200 codes.
“For about 200 years, the Chaplain Corps continued its role as the spiritual leader of our service members [by] serving our men and women in times of hardship and ministering to their souls,” Hegseth said.
“But sadly, as part of the ongoing war on warriors, in recent decades, its role has been degraded in an atmosphere of political correctness and secular humanism. Chaplains have been minimized, viewed by many as therapists instead of ministers.”
New changes, Hegseth said, aim to keep chaplains as “moral anchors” for the U.S. fighting force as opposed to “emotional support officers.”
“Faith and virtue were traded for self-help and self-care,” Hegseth said.
The revisions are the first of many that will be announced in the coming weeks as Hegseth and the Trump administration work to “make the Chaplain Corps great again.”
“There will be a top-down cultural shift putting spiritual well-being on the same footing as mental and physical health as a first step toward creating a supportive environment for our warriors and their souls,” he said.
