The United States Department of War has created an Office of Religious Affairs to coordinate religious support and promote the “moral, ethical and spiritual readiness” of military personnel.
The new office was established through a memorandum issued on Wednesday to senior Pentagon officials, combatant commanders, defence agency directors and other Department of War field activities. The directive took effect immediately.
It also created the position of Director of the Office of Religious Affairs, who will serve as a Principal Staff Assistant with direct access to the Secretary of War.
The director will advise the Secretary and Deputy Secretary of War on religious-affairs matters across the department and oversee efforts to ensure adequate resources for religious programmes within the military.
According to the memorandum, the office will help shape policies around the free exercise of religion and spiritual readiness while ensuring that service members, civilian employees and their families are not compelled to participate in religious activities.
“Nothing in this memorandum shall be construed to compel religious participation or to diminish the free exercise rights of any Service member, civilian employee, or family member of any faith or no faith,” it stated.
The office will oversee funding for religious ministry, chaplain services, facilities and infrastructure, logistics, chaplain procurement programmes, as well as training and education for chaplains and religious support teams.
It will also support chaplain-led initiatives, chapel youth programmes and faith-based home-schooling assistance for military families.
The memorandum further assigns the office responsibility for sponsoring and overseeing research, technology and analytical tools designed to support and assess “spiritual fitness, spiritual readiness, and spiritual resilience” within the military.
It will also back faith-based initiatives focused on suicide reduction and the resilience of service members, alongside contracted services provided by faith-based non-Federal organisations.
The director will have authority to align and, where necessary, issue policies on religious affairs on behalf of the Secretary of War.
The office will also represent the Secretary of War in religious-affairs engagements with Congress, other government departments and agencies, as well as civilian religious endorsing organisations.
Under the new arrangement, the Armed Forces Chaplains Board and its executive director will operate under the authority, direction and control of the Director of Religious Affairs.
The memorandum directs the Director of Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation, working with the Under Secretary of War (Comptroller) and Chief Financial Officer, to establish an initial budget for the office and submit a funding plan for the 2027 fiscal year within 60 days.
The Director of Administration and Management has been given 90 days to incorporate the office into the Department of War’s organisational structure and prepare a directive formally establishing it.
The official is also expected to identify the initial civilian and military positions required to staff the office.
Meanwhile, the Secretaries of the Military Departments, in collaboration with their respective Chiefs of Chaplains, are required to submit reports within 90 days outlining unfunded and underfunded religious-affairs needs.
The reports will cover religious ministry, facilities, logistics, chaplain-led programmes, youth initiatives, faith-based home-schooling support, suicide-reduction programmes and contracted faith-based services.
They are also expected to address research and technology relating to spiritual fitness and resilience, chaplain procurement programmes, and training and education for chaplains and religious support teams.
