Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News Editorials & Other Articles General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

Munu

(57 posts)
Wed Dec 17, 2025, 01:32 PM Wednesday

Ideological purge coming for US military Chaplains

Subject line is of course my interpretation, but see if you agree.

Hegseth says he'll recenter military Chaplain Corps on faith (UPI via Yahoo)

Dec. 17 (UPI) -- Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said Tuesday he would restore the role of the Chaplain Corps, saying political correctness had reduced military clergy to "emotional support officers."

Hegseth announced in a roughly four-minute video posted to X what he called a "top down cultural shift" that he said would put "spiritual well being on the same footing as mental and physical health." The announcement by Hegseth reflects his focus on culture war issues at the Pentagon and follows other initiatives by the Trump administration to give religion a greater role in public life.

Hegseth said that recent cultural shifts had changed the role of the Chaplain Corps, which he said was "part of the ongoing war on warriors."

"In recent decades, its role has been degraded in an atmosphere of political correctness and secular humanism, chaplains have been minimized, viewed by many as therapists, instead of ministers," he said. "Faith and virtue were traded for self-help and self-care."

...


Executive summary: Getting rid of Democrats.
9 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Ideological purge coming for US military Chaplains (Original Post) Munu Wednesday OP
Fart noises Solly Mack Wednesday #1
This creepoid... NotHardly Wednesday #2
Get rid of anyone who actually practices the basic principles of their religion. Ocelot II Wednesday #3
Who hurt you Pete? NCDem47 Wednesday #4
Sucking up to the fundamentalists and especially the radtrads... keep_left Wednesday #5
MaL Face says the darndest things. Dave Bowman Wednesday #6
Top down cultural shift clevergrrrl Wednesday #7
I would PAY drmeow Wednesday #8
Religion get the red out Wednesday #9

Ocelot II

(128,834 posts)
3. Get rid of anyone who actually practices the basic principles of their religion.
Wed Dec 17, 2025, 01:49 PM
Wednesday

He wants Christian evangelicals and conservative Catholics only, whose "faith" is secondary (or completely contradictory) to MAGA politics (forget Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, etc.). All of the major religions and belief systems embrace the concept of altruism expressed in the Golden Rule. They all advocate loving your neighbor, feeding the hungry, welcoming the stranger, etc. Spiritual well-being is essential to mental and physical health, even if your spirituality isn't tied to any religious belief system. A significant aspect of seminary training in most faiths is some form of psychological counseling; if all a chaplain ever does is advise a person to pray harder or say a few more Hail Marys, they aren't doing their job. But I guess Manly Man Who Doesn't Like Woke Jesus just wants chaplains who'll tell people to stop whining and stop sinning. If the chaplain learns that the person is struggling with their sexuality, said chaplain must tell them to stop being gay or trans if they don't want to go to Hell, and then turn them in to their superior officer so they can be kicked out of the service.

keep_left

(3,143 posts)
5. Sucking up to the fundamentalists and especially the radtrads...
Wed Dec 17, 2025, 02:04 PM
Wednesday

...at EWTN--that last paragraph might as well be a direct quote of the kind of crap seen and heard daily from the radtrad media machine (EWTN, Relevant Radio, etc.). I'm sure Raymond Arroyo will have Hegseth on his execrable World Over nightly "news" show for a lengthy interview in the coming days.

get the red out

(13,943 posts)
9. Religion
Wed Dec 17, 2025, 03:06 PM
Wednesday

It will be unofficially required, and only in a specific Christian version. Adherence to one interpretation of one ancient religious book (which is impossible to prove true) will be considered equal to physical and mental health.

Latest Discussions»General Discussion»Ideological purge coming ...