Hegseth creates Pentagon Office of Religious Affairs reporting directly to him

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has announced the creation of a new Pentagon Office of Religious Affairs, a move that will place the office directly under his authority. The announcement was made in a speech on Wednesday and described as part of a wider set of faith-related reforms at the Department of Defense. According to the Pentagon, the office will support chaplains and religious services while reporting at the highest level of the department.

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Hegseth said the office would help provide what he called "first-class religious support" and framed the initiative in explicitly religious language. He told the audience that the department was "putting on the full armour of God" and said that while the military wages physical war, the "real battle is spiritual". The Pentagon statement said the Office of Religious Affairs will advocate for military chaplains and religious support, but will not compel religious participation, favour one faith, or diminish the rights of personnel of any faith or of none.

The announcement drew criticism from religious-freedom advocates soon after it was made public. Rachel Laser, who leads Americans United for Separation of Church and State, said the Pentagon owes service members a defence of religious freedom and argued that the new office elevates Christianity to a greater role in shaping US military policy. The group has previously sued the Pentagon over worship services, underscoring the sensitivity of the issue inside the armed forces.

The move matters because it touches on the long-running debate over the role of religion in US public institutions, especially the military. The Pentagon has a large chaplaincy system intended to support service members of different faiths, and any change to how that system is overseen is likely to be closely watched by legal and civil-liberties groups. It also comes at a time when Hegseth has been openly associating his leadership with evangelical Christianity, including hosting worship services for employees and describing the United States as a Christian nation.

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The new office also fits into a broader pattern of faith-based structures across the federal government. The supporting material notes that other agencies have had religious or faith-based offices since the George W. Bush administration, with versions continuing under later administrations.

It also says Donald Trump created a White House Faith Office and had a similar effort during his first term. A religion scholar cited in the material said a previous State Department office focused on understanding the political implications of religion abroad rather than promoting religion itself. The Pentagon has not yet named the leader of the new office, and some details remain unclear.

A memo referenced in the material says the director will coordinate spiritual resources, including faith-based homeschool support for military families, but the full scope of the office has not been set out publicly. What happens next will likely depend on how the office is staffed, how its mandate is interpreted, and whether further legal or political challenges emerge.

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