The United States military has nearly doubled its list of recognized religions to 221.
The list includes the various forms ofย neo-paganism, which isย as sectarian as any other religion: ย Druids, Heathens, Pagans, Shamans, Magick & Spiritualists, Wicca, Seax Wicca, Gardnerian Wicca, etc. ย Butย Satanists did not make the list.
The new list includes the various kinds of unbelief: ย Atheists, Agnostics, Humanists, Deists, No Religion.
The earlier list had the one category โJewish,โ but this one usefully breaks down that religion into its ย โReform,โ โConservative,โ and โOrthodoxโ strains. ย Hasidic Jews are not listed, but Messianic Jews are.
It lists โIslamโ as one group, but ignores the distinction between โShiโiteโ and โSunni,โ despite the current conflict between those two sects, which would seem to be important for our military to be aware of.
The Lutheran list is all confused. ย โLutheran Church in America,โ โAmerican Lutheran Church,โ and the โAmerican Evangelical Lutheran Churchโ are listed, though they no longer exist, having merged into the โEvangelical Lutheran Church in Americaโ (listed). ย โThe Lutheran Council in the USAโโnever a church, just an organization of churchesโ is also defunct, having shut down in 1988. ย More recent organizations are not listed. ย Nor is the North American Lutheran Church, which broke away from the ELCA.
The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod is on the list, but not the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Church or the Evangelical Lutheran Synod. ย And yet smaller Lutheran groups, such as the Free Lutherans and the American and the Independent Lutherans, are on the list. ย There is a category for โLutheran Churches, Other.โ
I wouldnโt be surprised if other traditions are similarly garbled. ย So the list falls short of being a comprehensive catalog of American religions. ย But itโs interesting nonetheless.
How this list will be used is unclear. ย Expect an initiative to provide religious support for all of these groups, and expect Christian chaplains to be pressured accordingly. ย Read this articleย about the list and see our post on religion in the military.
Read the whole list after the jump.
For the complete list, click this: ย Faith-and-Belief-Codes-for-Reporting-Personnel-Data-of-Service-Members
Illustration: ย โSt. Paul Preaching in Athens,โ by Raphael [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons. ย [โMen of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. 23ย For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: โTo the unknown god.โ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to youโ (Acts 17:22-23).]
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