Pete Hegseth’s New Office of Religious Affairs Sparks Controversy and Debate

• by Shimanta Das
• October 6, 2026

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ignited a fierce debate with the establishment of the Office of Religious Affairs (ORA), which began operations on September 30, 2026. The office reports directly and exclusively to Hegseth, with no chain-of-command layer between its director and his desk. According to the Department of Defense, the ORA’s mission is to promote “spiritual readiness” as a key component of combat success by building up the “resilience, conviction, and moral strength” of service members. The office will rely on service chaplains as its main source for faith-based support, positioning them as “powerful advocate[s]” for troops. In a 20-minute address announcing the initiative, Hegseth outlined his vision, but the speech quickly sparked a major row on social media over the symbolism in the Department of War seal displayed on the stage.nnThe ORA’s revised list of recognized faith traditions includes major world religions such as Buddhism, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, Sikhism, and the Bahá’í faith, as well as agnostics. However, the exclusion of a dedicated code for the nonreligious has drawn sharp criticism. The Freedom From Religion Foundation has noted that the nonreligious represent at least a quarter of the active-duty force, yet now have no dedicated code for tracking. The foundation also pointed to Supreme Court precedent holding that the First Amendment requires the government to remain neutral “between religion and religion, and between religion and nonreligion.” Mikey Weinstein, founder of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, told a publication that his organization “condemns in the strongest terms” Hegseth’s “immoral, unethical and unconstitutional actions.”nnThe controversy comes amid a charged political climate. Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly, who has been campaigning for others in his party this election, told “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” that he’s seen “a lot of energy” among voters. “People are frustrated and they’re fed up with Washington D.C.,” Kelly said. As the ORA begins its work, it