The Pentagon is creating a new Office of Religious Affairs in a move that places religious-support policy closer to the department’s senior leadership and gives military chaplaincy a more direct channel to the defense secretary’s office.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced the initiative during a September 30 address at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia. Under the memorandum establishing the office, its director will report directly to Hegseth and advise both the secretary and deputy secretary on religious affairs throughout the Defense Department.

The organizational change gives religious affairs a dedicated institutional position at the Pentagon rather than leaving the issue solely within existing chaplain structures. Its mandate includes advocating for resources, facilities, training and religious-support programs, while also overseeing research into the relationship between spiritual readiness and resilience among military personnel.

Military chaplaincies will continue to provide religious services and support to service members. The new office is instead designed to operate at the policy and departmental level, potentially giving chaplain programs greater visibility when funding priorities, infrastructure requirements and training needs are considered.

The Pentagon has emphasized that the initiative is not intended to compel religious participation or promote one faith over another. The department says protections will continue to apply to personnel across different religious traditions as well as those who do not practice a religion. That distinction is central to the office’s stated role because military religious support operates within an institution that must accommodate a diverse force while maintaining constitutional and service-related protections.

The creation of the office has nevertheless prompted differing responses. Evangelist Franklin Graham welcomed the initiative as a potential source of stronger institutional support for military chaplains. Americans United for Separation of Church and State, by contrast, raised concerns that the department’s approach could create pressure for Hegseth’s religious views to influence service members.

Episcopal Bishop Ann Ritonia also pointed to both the potential benefits and the unresolved organizational questions. While supporting the possibility of additional funding for chaplaincy programs, she called for clearer guidance concerning how the new office will interact with existing chaplain leadership and the military chain of command.

Those questions are likely to become more significant as the Pentagon moves from announcing the office to implementing it. As of October 1, a director had not been publicly identified. The memorandum calls for an initial budget proposal within 60 days and organizational arrangements within 90 days.

From a management perspective, the initiative creates a new layer for coordinating religious-support policy, resources and research across the Defense Department. Its practical impact will depend less on the announcement itself than on how responsibilities are divided between the new office and established chaplain organizations, how funding is allocated, and how the department maintains equal treatment of personnel with different beliefs.

The coming months will therefore provide the first indication of how the Pentagon intends to translate the new structure into operational policy. The office’s leadership, budget and relationship with existing chaplain authorities will help determine whether it becomes primarily a policy coordination mechanism or develops a broader role in shaping religious-support programs across the U.S. military.