{"id":14088,"date":"2025-12-28T13:42:45","date_gmt":"2025-12-28T13:42:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/?p=14088"},"modified":"2025-12-28T13:42:45","modified_gmt":"2025-12-28T13:42:45","slug":"hegseth-announces-overhaul-of-chaplain-corps-removal-of-secular-influences","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/?p=14088","title":{"rendered":"Hegseth Announces Overhaul of Chaplain Corps, Removal of Secular Influences"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n Reading Time:<\/span> 3<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth says he is planning a significant overhaul of the military\u2019s Chaplain Corps by refocusing it on religious ministry and eliminating what he called secular influences.\n<\/p>\n

Join the community of Monthly Ministry Partners and help IFA provide prayer resources to other intercessors.<\/h4>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Pledging to \u201cmake the Chaplain Corps great again,\u201d Hegseth announced the initiative in a\u00a0video message\u00a0posted Tuesday, highlighting the historical role of chaplains in the military, citing President George Washington, who established the Chaplain Corps in 1775 as one of his first actions as general of the Continental Army.\n<\/p>\n

Quoting Washington\u2019s general orders, Hegseth said, \u201cThe blessing and protection of Heaven are at all times necessary, but especially so in times of public distress and danger.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

For nearly 250 years, Hegseth argued, chaplains served as the \u201cspiritual and moral backbone\u201d of the forces, ministering to service members\u2019 souls in times of hardship. However, he contended that in recent decades, \u201cas part of the ongoing war on warriors,\u201d the corps has been degraded.\n<\/p>\n

The 45-year-old Hegseth referenced the \u201cArmy Spiritual Fitness Guide,\u201d a 112-page document released in August 2025 that frames spiritual fitness as key to force readiness. \u201cIn well over a hundred pages, it mentions God one time. That\u2019s it,\u201d said Hegseth. \u201cIt mentions feelings 11 times. It even mentions playfulness, whatever that is, nine times. There\u2019s zero mention of virtue.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

The guide, described on the Army\u2019s website as a \u201cgroundbreaking resource\u201d equipping soldiers to build inner strength regardless of religious beliefs, emphasizes diverse sources of purpose, including God, family, patriotism or personal growth for religious and non-religious troops alike.\n<\/p>\n

A CP review of the document confirmed that it contains a single reference to \u201cGod\u201d and makes zero references to Christianity.\n<\/p>\n

New Age terms like \u201cconsciousness\u201d (43 times) and \u201cmindfulness\u201d (15 times) appear more frequently than religious references in the document. The word \u201cJewish,\u201d for example, is used once, while \u201cIslam\u201d also appears once under the document\u2019s reference list.\n<\/p>\n

Hegseth described the guide as relying on \u201cNew Age notions,\u201d defining a soldier\u2019s spirit as consisting of \u201cconsciousness, creativity, and connection,\u201d and accused it of alienating religious troops \u2014 which, according to the document, make up around 82% of active military members \u2014 by \u201cpushing secular humanism.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\u201cIn an atmosphere of political correctness and secular humanism, chaplains have been minimized, viewed by many as therapists instead of ministers,\u201d Hegseth said. \u201cFaith and virtue were traded for self-help and self-care.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

Calling the document \u201cunacceptable and unserious,\u201d Hegseth said he signed a directive to \u201celiminate the use of the \u201cArmy Spiritual Fitness Guide\u201d effective immediately,\u201d adding, \u201cThese types of training materials have no place in the War Department.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

Since his nomination by President Donald Trump last November, Hegseth, who identifies as a Christian, has been a target for controversy over his faith and politics.\n<\/p>\n

In October, Hegseth addressed military leaders in Quantico, Virginia. He began his\u00a0speech\u00a0by noting the recent name change of the agency he oversees, declaring, \u201cThe era of the Department of Defense is over.\u201d He also pledged to eliminate DEI initiatives and other \u201cwoke garbage\u201d from the Pentagon.\n<\/p>\n

During a voluntary event at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, in May, Hegseth\u00a0led a prayer\u00a0acknowledging Jesus as King and invoking His wisdom for guidance, prompting critics to accuse him of violating the U.S. Constitution.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cKing Jesus, we come humbly before you, seeking your face, seeking your grace, in humble obedience to your law and to your Word,\u201d Hegseth prayed. \u201cWe come as sinners saved only by that grace, seeking your providence in our lives and in our nation.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

Tracing its origins to the Revolutionary War, the Chaplain Corps was\u00a0founded\u00a0by George Washington in July 1775 during his time as general of the Continental Army, when the Continental Congress authorized one chaplain for each regiment of the Continental Army.\n<\/p>\n

The Chaplain Corps has approximately 1,300 active duty Army chaplains representing five major faith groups and over 120 denominations.\n<\/p>\n

Share your prayers for the Chaplain Corps in the comments.<\/h4>\n

This article was originally published at The Christian Post. Photo Credit: U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Jarrett Smith.<\/em>
\n \n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Reading Time: 3 minutes Secretary of War Pete Hegseth says he is planning a significant overhaul of the military\u2019s Chaplain Corps by refocusing it on religious ministry and eliminating what he called secular influences. Join the community of Monthly Ministry Partners and help IFA provide prayer resources to other intercessors. \u00a0 Pledging to \u201cmake the<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11290,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[514,3802,3803,2295,4139,3801,4137,4138],"class_list":["post-14088","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-prayer","tag-announces","tag-chaplain","tag-corps","tag-hegseth","tag-influences","tag-overhaul","tag-removal","tag-secular"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14088","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14088"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14088\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/11290"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14088"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14088"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14088"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}