Sens. Lee and Curtis question new Pentagon designation for Latter-day Saints [View all]

Source: Deseret News

Politics * Faith
Sens. Lee and Curtis question new Pentagon designation for Latter-day Saints

Curtis said he would ask the Pentagon for a correction after the subhead ‘Christian’ was left off of the designation for the church

Published: June 6, 2026, 11:43 a.m. MDT
Updated: June 6, 2026, 11:51 a.m. MDT


The Church Administration Building, foreground, and the Church Office Building in Salt Lake City are shown on Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025. Tad Walch, Deseret News

By Suzanne Bates
Suzanne is the assistant managing editor over politics and the West. She covers state and national politics.

Utah’s two U.S. senators are questioning a new Pentagon policy that leaves “Christian” off the designation for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The Department of War recently announced the reduction in the number of religious affiliation categories for service members from over 200 down to 31. Categories that were removed from the list include “atheist” and “humanist,” and “Wicca.”

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is included as a religious category on the updated list. But the faith was not included in the list of faiths labeled “Christian.”

Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, put up a screenshot of the list on X and asked “Can anyone tell me why The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was left out of the list of Christian churches?”

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Read more: https://www.deseret.com/politics/2026/06/06/lee-and-curtis-question-new-pentagon-religious-affiliation-for-latter-day-saints-mormons/