Pentagon backtracks after Mormons protest its delisting of their religion

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Source: MS NOW

Pentagon backtracks after Mormons protest its delisting of their religion

Last week, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints wasn’t on the Pentagon’s list of acknowledged Christian religions. On Monday, it was back (sort of).

Jun. 8, 2026, 4:38 PM EDT
By Ja'han Jones

Conservative Mormons, much like conservative Catholics, may be starting to realize they are not exempt from the Trump administration’s religious bigotry.

President Donald Trump and his administration’s crusade to cut off funding to Catholic groups that provide aid to immigrants, the condemnation by Trump officials of Catholic leaders for urging sympathy toward immigrants and Trump’s repeated attacks on Pope Leo for opposing his deadly war with Iran have created an environment in which even some right-wing Catholics have had to reckon with hostility toward Christians coming from some of their presumed allies in administration.

Lawmakers and members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints may be having a similar realization after the Pentagon, which is led by Christian nationalist Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, excluded the church from its list of recognized religions, along with 179 other faith traditions. The move was apparently a part of the Pentagon’s controversial push to slash the number of religious faiths it recognizes.

The move comes amid a long-standing resistance among some conservative evangelicals to classify Latter-day Saints as a branch of Christianity.

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Read more: https://www.ms.now/opinion/pentagon-mormons-religion-list-church-latter-day-saints