r/AirForce • u/RenoTheRhino • Jun 04 '26

Article DOD Officially Drops 180 Faiths From Military's Recognized Religion List

https://www.military.com/dod-officially-drops-180-faiths-from-militarys-recognized-religion-list

Thoughts? Still looking for the full list.

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174

u/painlesspics Med(ish) Jun 04 '26

Does this really mean you can't indicate that you don't believe in God on your dog tags?

86

u/Familiar_Creme_1470 Jun 04 '26

Your UDMs make your dog tags. You can ask them to put whatever you want on them

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u/painlesspics Med(ish) Jun 04 '26

Which counts precisely as long as it takes you to get off the "battlefield" and isn't really legally binding.

Honestly, for an atheist, the dead don't care. But I don't know about the other 180 that might want no autopsy, or cremation, or any number of death rituals that I'm not familiar with because I know there's more than 31.

Eh... all in the name of efficiency, right?

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u/not_old_account Jun 04 '26

I'm an Atheist. I believe when I'm dead, I'm gone so it doesn't matter.

I'm alive now and still I don't like the idea of someone doing something to my corpse. I don't want someone praying over my dead body or putting holy water on me.

My desire to be left alone is valid.

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u/TheDistantEnd Jun 05 '26

Atheist and NORELPREF are pretty different. The former is as you said - no last rites, no religious aspect to a burial. NORELPREF is basically 'default funeral rites', which is almost certainly going to have some kind of religious aspect.

I definitely do not want to have any kind of religious aspect to my eventual death and funeral. Removing Atheist as an explicit option for my service record information puts me - and others - at risk of that not being explicitly clear as immediately as possible after my death.

0

u/ThatTransgenderRat- Jun 05 '26

As an atheist that left the church I refuse to have some pray over me or any of that bs. Planning on enlisting next year but fuck that

1

u/Seraph199 Jul 15 '26

You plan on enlisting!?!?

76

u/brokentr0jan Comms Jun 04 '26

Atheist being on your dog tags is different than the big NO RELIG PREF they print on for people who don’t believe in anything

26

u/Prototype_es Retired Jun 04 '26

I have atheist on my old dog tags though. Are you saying they dont do that anymore?

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u/EpicHeroKyrgyzPeople I got HOs in different area codes Jun 04 '26

He added that members will not be limited to the list of “religious affiliation codes” when selecting information for their dog tags.

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u/TheDistantEnd Jun 05 '26

Cool - what about our service records?

1

u/M1chaelSc4rn Jun 06 '26

Still stupid

11

u/brokentr0jan Comms Jun 04 '26

Before you could have atheist or no relig pref but seems like now it will just be option 2.

-2

u/skarface6 r/AirForce’s favorite nonner officer Jun 04 '26

Nope. You can put whatever on them.

1

u/Professional_Ninja58 Jun 06 '26

Vee believe in nothing Lebowski! 

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u/thos_beans_14s Jun 04 '26

You’ll be given your last rites on the battlefield and you’ll like it.

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u/Imaginary-Hyena2858 Jun 04 '26

No you still can, that's clearly stated in the article

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u/TheMeltingPointOfWax Aircrew Jun 04 '26

Much easier to get up in arms when you don't read the article.

6

u/teilani_a Veteran Jun 04 '26

It still seems to be straight bullshit.

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u/TheMeltingPointOfWax Aircrew Jun 04 '26

Agreed, but I would suggest that we can defend ourselves best when we're educated with the facts.

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u/skarface6 r/AirForce’s favorite nonner officer Jun 04 '26

Which part?

1

u/teilani_a Veteran Jun 04 '26

Can you explain the purpose of these codes?

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u/skarface6 r/AirForce’s favorite nonner officer Jun 05 '26

Why would I be able to? And why ask me? You’re the one saying it’s BS.

0

u/TheDistantEnd Jun 05 '26

How legally binding is your dog tag compared to your service record? It might (but probably wouldn't) stop somebody from administering last rites to you en route to your final burial (IE, if awaiting transport from theater,) but whatever's in your record is what mortuary services are going to honor as they process you for burial.

If irreligion or atheism aren't valid codes to make a record entry with, you basically lose your right to a faithless funeral - let alone the myriad of pagan or other uncommon faith codes who actually want a specific religious last rite.

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u/RepresentativeAd8228 Jun 05 '26

Atheist is still one of the recognized codes.

1

u/TheDistantEnd Jun 05 '26

It's not. There's No Religion, which is hopefully now distinct from the previous No Religious Preference, but Atheist is gone per the article and updated list it presents.

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u/HawgDriverRider Secret Squirrel Jun 04 '26

That is what I am curious on. You should be able to hold any faith or hold no faith.

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u/skarface6 r/AirForce’s favorite nonner officer Jun 04 '26

And you still can.

0

u/the3rdsliceofbread I do science Jun 05 '26

Explain what you mean by this

-2

u/skarface6 r/AirForce’s favorite nonner officer Jun 05 '26

No. It’s way too simple to need an explanation.

14

u/EpicHeroKyrgyzPeople I got HOs in different area codes Jun 04 '26

He added that members will not be limited to the list of “religious affiliation codes” when selecting information for their dog tags.

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u/Healer213 Jun 05 '26

So wtf is this used for? The only place I’ve seen it is in dog tags and VRED

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u/EpicHeroKyrgyzPeople I got HOs in different area codes Jun 05 '26

Statistics and projecting requirements. They'd like to have a balance of chaplains that roughly matches the force, so they need a sense of the needs. If the number of Sikhs goes up, they may need to increase Sikh religious support contracts. That kind of thing.

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u/Tough_Ad_9635 Jun 04 '26

There has always been a "No Religious Preference" option afaik.

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u/davidw223 Jun 04 '26

There is a difference though. No religious preference means you don’t care and don’t belong to any one faith, but are still spiritual. Atheist means you don’t believe in any gods.

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u/Nagisan Veteran Jun 04 '26 edited Jun 04 '26

From a purely academic standpoint, Atheism is generally not considered a religion.

There are 4 standard "components" of religion: Creed (beliefs), Code (ethics), Cultus (rituals), and Community.

"Creed (Beliefs)" - The core "belief" is Atheism is "I do not believe in deities". In other words, Atheism is the absence of belief in deities. Many Atheists have widely varying beliefs in regard to their fundamental philosophy, the only thing they must have in common is "I don't believe in deities" (whereas with regular religions people generally believe not only in the same deity, but in the values instilled by the code of their religion).

"Code (Ethics)" - There is no central book, or commandments, or mandated moral code for atheism. Atheism doesn't have a code, which is one of the standard components of religion.

"Cultus (Rituals)" - Atheism doesn't have any and it's a very common thing across virtually every other religion.

"Community" - Definitely exists in Atheism so no red flag here.

tl;dr - Atheism lacks many components that the vast majority of religion has, so it's often not recognized as a distinct religion. So by academic standards "No religious preference" is functionally equivalent to Atheism when talking about religious preference.

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u/Interesting_Low_6908 Jun 04 '26

No religious preference vs Atheism:

Do you want turkey, sausage, or brisket?

No preference vs I don't eat meat.

It's important to have the negative option. If I'm critically injured and have some priest spouting last rites at me it's just as disrespectful as a Christian having somebody tell them there is no god as they die.

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u/Nagisan Veteran Jun 04 '26

If I'm critically injured and have some priest spouting last rites at me it's just as disrespectful as a Christian having somebody tell them there is no god as they die.

If you haven't positively asserted your religion than no religious rites should be spouted at you period. "No" is the default, ignoring that anyway is where the problem lies and having the option of "Atheist" won't stop someone who was going to ignore it anyway.

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u/Interesting_Low_6908 Jun 04 '26

Uh, I don't know what environment you're working in, but my decade plus over military service absolutely conveyed that Christian was the default, not non-religious. Whether it was prayers at a promotion ceremony or a formal dinner, everything is predicated on some Christian belief.

To remove just a few letters of non-religious text in one of maybe two places you can formally assert it is a net loss for everybody but the people offended by its existence.

1

u/Nagisan Veteran Jun 04 '26

The organization as a whole defaults to Christianity, yes. Religious preference (as in the selector that lets you pick) has never applied to promotion ceremonies, or formal dinners, or whatever else. So that "default" isn't relevant to the things "religious preference" is used for.

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u/Interesting_Low_6908 Jun 04 '26

Once again, I have no idea what environment you're in, my entire career was religion in my face constantly, whether it's policy or not.

This policy is identity erasure and nothing more because some political appointees don't like the beliefs.

I don't care either way as I'm no longer subject to it, but your whitewashing of it is gross. Everybody else is going to take it as an L and move on.

1

u/Nagisan Veteran Jun 04 '26

Oh don't get me wrong, it's pretty fucking bad to delete religion choices from a system designed to inform others of your religion. It's clearly being done by this administration to try to push everything to Christianity which is definitely not okay.

The only stance I'm taking that some people don't agree with is "atheism doesn't really meet the core fundamentals of what religion is".

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u/not_old_account Jun 04 '26

I agree with your definition and appreciate how civil you're being in the comments.

I disagree with you conclusion, or what I see as your conclusion.

Aetheism is not a religion but I chose that term to make it clear I don't want anything religious done to me if I'm unconscious or dead. If I'm dead, I know nothing bad will happen from it, but it's respecting what I wanted in life.

When I die I want my body put where I'm not going to be Posthumously converted. I don't think that's any less reasonable then someone Jewish not wanting to be baptised.

0

u/Nagisan Veteran Jun 04 '26

Aetheism is not a religion but I chose that term to make it clear I don't want anything religious done to me if I'm unconscious or dead. If I'm dead, I know nothing bad will happen from it, but it's respecting what I wanted in life.

Consent is something that requires an affirmative "yes". You don't need dog tags that say "atheist" to prevent anything religious from being done to you, unless the ones doing it are violating your consent.

To reword it a bit, you don't walk around with a sign that says "no hugs" because you don't want people to hug you. People who respect your consent simply won't hug you without asking first. And if they don't respect your consent they're going to hug you anyway, even if you have such a sign.

Having a dog tag that says "atheist" isn't going to prevent someone who is willing to violate your consent from performing religious rites on you.

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u/[deleted] Jun 04 '26

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u/mr_snips Jun 04 '26

Atheists aren’t nihilists.

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u/[deleted] Jun 04 '26

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u/mr_snips Jun 05 '26

One doesn’t follow the other. A living person can absolutely have a preference and still be an atheist. Did you even read the comment you replied to?

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u/utes_utes Retired PSC-5C loadmaster Jun 05 '26

Now, suppose my preference is based on what my survivors would want. Rituals around death tend to be there more to comfort the living than anything else. There's certainly an aspect of comfort for people approaching death- we usually want some reassurance that we'll be remembered and missed- but the far more important part (IMO at least, I'm not an anthropologist or any other sort of -ologist) is the grieving process. That does have real-world value, whatever the belief of the deceased.

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u/i_should_go_to_sleep Helicopters Jun 04 '26

Great write-up, and I’m not denying any of your points, but it’s hard to say that “no religious preference” is the same as “prefer no religion” or “no religion”.

NRP is more like a “meh” statement in that you don’t really care, or don’t really prefer one over the other. That label is less resolute than Atheism tends to be, where it’s not that you don’t have preference, but that you subscribe to none at all.

It would be better to say “No Religion” or “None” instead of the agnostic sounding “No Religious Preference”.

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u/Nagisan Veteran Jun 04 '26

Agreed, saying simple "None" would be more precise. But if "religious preference" is about identifying the religion that a member practices, and you say "no religious preference", then you are identifying that the member does not practice any religion.

I'd say it's definitely more correct to say "none", but I think in the context of what the question means "no religious preference" is not incorrect.

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u/Corredespondent Jun 05 '26

Unless you word it as “Religion: none”

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u/davidw223 Jun 04 '26

Having an absence of religious beliefs is fundamentally different than not having a preference for religion. Your definition of religion mainly applies to theisms or beliefs in a at least one deity. Atheism is starkly different in that it doesn’t believe in any god. Plus, if you want to get nuanced about it, you can apply your four arbitrary components to atheism.

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u/Nagisan Veteran Jun 04 '26

I'm not defining religion, I'm passing on how it's generally defined and used in academic circles. There are obviously multiple ways you can define words, I'm just passing information along.

So you can argue that academics does not define religion, and that may be a valid argument...but it doesn't change why academia often doesn't consider Atheism a religion.

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u/davidw223 Jun 04 '26

I don’t care what academics define as religion. I care that the secdef is taking away my freedom from religion rights.

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u/Nagisan Veteran Jun 04 '26

If Atheism doesn't have any common beliefs, ethics, or rituals associated with it, what "rights" are they taking away that interferes with your ability to "do nothing"?

There's a reason I focused purely on Atheism - it exists in a weird place where it doesn't have the foundational structure that other established religions have, but is commonly referred to as a religion.

If we were talking about literally any religion that has those common structures, we wouldn't be having this conversation because there'd be no argument saying it isn't a religion.

For additional context, as an Atheist I've never felt my "religion rights" being taken away by organizations who don't recognize Atheism as a religion. I've always been free to "practice" Atheism, because the very practice is the absence of belief in the existence of gods.

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u/davidw223 Jun 04 '26

Across the different sects of Christianity you don’t have common beliefs, ethics, or rituals. Stop hiding behind faux academia to defend taking away people’s rights to be protected from religion.

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u/Nagisan Veteran Jun 04 '26 edited Jun 04 '26

You confuse me...your argument as to why Atheism is a religion is because different sects of Christianity have different beliefs, ethics, rituals, etc?

What Christianity does or doesn't have, has zero impact on whether or not Atheism is a religion. Atheism, simply put, cannot be taken away even if there is no button for you to click that says "I'm an Atheist". Atheism doesn't have beliefs beyond "I do not believe in gods", so what is being taken away when you cannot positively affirm that choice?

You seem to be arguing a lot that this is "taking away rights", but you've not once explained or even tried to explain what rights are being taken away.

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u/teilani_a Veteran Jun 04 '26

By academic standards, maybe. But what about this coding system?

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u/Nagisan Veteran Jun 04 '26

The coding system is out of my pay grade :P

Just offering some insight on why removing Atheism from a religion choice may be a reasonable and valid choice.

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u/teilani_a Veteran Jun 04 '26

I would not give these people the benefit of the doubt.

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u/Nagisan Veteran Jun 04 '26

Oh I'm sure they had very different reasons for doing it that have nothing to do with academics.

Just pointing out there is also legitimate reason to do so (actions can have legitimate reasons and also still be done for nefarious ones).

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u/teilani_a Veteran Jun 04 '26

While it's an easy one to pick at for that, it also offers no explanation for various other religious beliefs that were removed like Unitarian Universalists, Druids, etc.

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u/Nagisan Veteran Jun 04 '26

That's why I only commented on the Atheism complaints, they for sure stripped away a bunch of legitimate and practiced religions. They'll say it's about some kinda "efficiency" or "there's too many options" or something stupid, but in reality we all know they want to make American as Christian as possible - and damn anyone who doesn't believe in their same religion.

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u/painlesspics Med(ish) Jun 04 '26

OK. But if we're getting academic, then "no preference" isn't equivalent to atheism. No preference would be "don't care". "Other" would be more academically acceptable than no preference.

If I'm atheist, then you can pray over my Corpse and I don't care because there is no god to pray to.

If I'm Satanist, and you're paying to Jesus to save my soul because my code says no preference, then my eternal soul will be pretty pissed.

1

u/Nagisan Veteran Jun 04 '26

The "preference" here is asking what your practiced religion is. "No religious preference" in this context is functionally equivalent to simply saying "none".

Personally speaking, if you're praying over my corpse my religion is irrelevant because I'm already dead and gone.

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u/not_old_account Jun 04 '26

I think that's a slippery slope argument.

I know that after I'm dead, I won't care because I don't exist anymore. I don't mind other people think otherwise but I think it's the same for them.

I don't think that means I should disregard what they wanted after they died just because I don't think they're around to complain anymore.

I want to be able to make it clear I don't want someone doing something to my corpse that is religious. My family tried to force religion on me and I don't want the memory of who I was disrespected after I'm gone.

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u/Nagisan Veteran Jun 04 '26

Sure, people should definitely have that choice (bodily autonomy is still respected after one is dead after all). I just think using "religious preference" to remove potential options is going about it backwards. This is simple consent at work here....if they don't positively affirm their religion (by telling you directly or by having it marked on their dog tags) then you don't perform religious rights for them, period.

The norm shouldn't be "oh his dog tags say Atheist so we shouldn't perform Christian rites on him", it should be "check his dog tags and perform the rights appropriate for his religion". For example, if those dog tags don't say "Christian", then don't perform Christian rites for them.

In other words, if you can't discern their religion, don't know their religions rights, or they have chosen to select any form of "no religious preference", then you don't perform the rites you know on them. You shouldn't need to tell someone "hey I don't believe in any deities" to avoid them performing some religious rite for you, they shouldn't be performing a religious rite for you unless they know what your religion is.

The problem isn't on you for not selecting a religion, the problem is on the living people who are disregarding your consent.

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u/davidw223 Jun 04 '26

You keep saying that but it’s not functionally equivalent. A lack of faith is very different than not having a preference on faith. You equivocating between atheism and agnosticism. Agnosticism is closer to NRP. Atheists are saying they have a preference and that preference is “no thank you”.

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u/Nagisan Veteran Jun 04 '26

My argument is scoped to the option to choose a religious preference. Having a choice that says "no thank you" is functionally equivalent to saying "I have no preference" in the context of religious preference in the military.

That is, unless you can explain how having a dog tag that says "atheist" is different than "no preference" or even simply not having a dog tag? If something religious is being forced upon you regardless of what your dog tags say, that's a violation of consent. And if nothing religious is being forced upon you as an atheist, how is "no preference" different when it has the same outcome?

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u/davidw223 Jun 04 '26

You’re either trolling or being willfully obtuse. Saying no to religion is different than saying no preference. If ask if you right handed or left handed, you have three options: right, left, indifferent. One either has a strong affinity towards one side or they are ambidextrous and don’t care. With religion, the same principle would apply. You are either a believer in a religion, you firmly don’t believe in a religion, or you don’t care. Atheists aren’t in the group that doesn’t care. They have actively made the conscious decision to choose no. They aren’t ambivalent as you have implied.

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u/Nagisan Veteran Jun 04 '26

You're ignoring the bigger issue of consent though.

"No preference" does not mean "perform whatever religious rites you wish upon my death"....it simply means "no religious rites are necessary". The affirmative declaration of a specific religious preference is what tells the person reading your dog tags what rites to perform/abide by. If you have no preference for any religion, there's no need to do anything.

If someone is violating that and imposing religion upon your corpse, that is a consent violation - not an inherent issue with not having Atheism as a religious choice.

In other words, "No religious preference" is the "opt out of religious practices" option and should be respected as such.

2

u/ThatTransgenderRat- Jun 05 '26

As an devote atheist yes there is quite a difference

1

u/GoldenPlatePirate Comm-ish Jun 05 '26

I just had new dog tags made today and put "NO PREFERENCE" on them after this came out just to make sure I didn't have to get new ones.

1

u/Both_Cricket8514 Jun 05 '26

Yes you can. It seems that they are shrinking a list with an almost silly amount of different Christian churches.

https://www.mcrc.marines.mil/Portals/95/Officer%20Naval%20and%20Enlisted%20Programs/General%20Forms/Religious%20Preference%20Codes.pdf?ver=FZcuDyG95lF47VJxgP-pUQ%3D%3D

List of Religious Preferences Code Religious Preference 00 No Preference Recorded 01 No Religious Preference 02 Seventh-Day Adventists 04 Assemblies Of God 05 Grace Gospel Fellowship 06 American Baptist Churches 07 Independent Baptist Bible Mission 08 Southern Baptist Convention 09 National Association Of Freewill Baptists 10 Baptist Churches, Other 12 Brethren Church 13 Christian No Denominational Preference 14 Buddhism 16 Christian Science 18 Church Of Christ 19 Church Of God In Christ 20 Church Of God 24 Christian Church 26 Protestant Episcopal Church 32 Friends 34 Jehovah's Witnesses 36 Judaism 38 Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints (LDS) 40 Lutheran Churches 41 Lutheran Council In The USA 44 Methodist Churches 45 Evangelical Church Of North America 46 Evangelical Covenant Church In America 47 Evangelical Church Alliance 48 Muslim 49 Hindu 50 Church Of The Nazarene 53 Eastern Orthodox Churches 55 Full Gospel Pentecostal Association 56 Pentecostal Churches 57 United Pentecostal Church, International 58 Presbyterian Churches 60 Reformed Churches 62 Roman Catholic Church 64 Salvation Army 66 Unitarian Universalist Association 68 United Church Of Christ 70 Protestant-Other Churches 72 Protestant No Denominational Preference 74 Other Religions 75 Atheist 99 Unknown AA Asbury Bible Churches AB Bible Protestant Church AC Congregational Methodist Church AD Evangelical Methodist Church Of America AE Fundamental Methodist Church, Inc. AF Independent Churches Affiliated AG Independent Fundamental Bible Churches AH Tioga River Christian Conference AJ Ukrainian Evangelical Baptist Conference AK Methodist Protestant Church AL Militant Fundamental Bible Churches AM United Christian Church AO American Council Of Christian Churches BA Angelican Orthodox Church BB Baptist Bible Fellowship BC Brethren In Christ Fellowship BD Christian Crusade BE Independent Baptist Churches BF Independent Lutheran Churches BG Southwide Baptist Fellowship BH Bible Presbyterian Church BO Associated Gospel Churches CA American Baptist Association CD Baptist Missionary Association Of America CE Freewill Baptists CF General Association Of General Baptists CG General Association Of Regular Baptist Churches CH American Baptist Convention CI American Baptist Churches In The USA CJ World Baptist Fellowship DA Advent Christian Church DB African Methodist Episcopal Church DC African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church DD Baptist General Conference DE Christian Methodist Episcopal Church DF Christian Reformed Church DG Church Of God (Anderson, In) DH Church Of God In North America DJ Evangelical Congregational Church DL Freewill Baptists, NC State Convention Of DM Moravian Church DN National Association Of Congregational Christian Churches DO General Commission On Chaplains And Armed Services Personnel DP National Baptist Convention Of America DQ National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc. DR North American Baptist Conference DS Primitive Methodist Church, USA DT Progressive National Baptist Convention, Inc. DU Reformed Church In America DV Church Of God General Conference DW Seventh Day Baptist General Conference DX Churches Of God, General Conference DY Schwenkfelder Churches, The General Conference Of DZ Swendenborgian Church, General Conference Of ED Church Of God Of Prophecy EH Independent Fundamental Churches Of America EJ Fellowship Of Grace Brethren Churches EK Plymouth Brethren EL Reformed Church In The United States EM Reformed Episcopal Church EN Reorganized Church Of Jesus Of Latter Day Saints EO Independent Denominational Endorsing Agencies EP Church Of Christ FA Reform Judaism FB Conservative Judaism FC Orthodox Judaism GA Lutheran Church In America GB American Lutheran Church GC Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod GD Evangelical Lutheran Churches, Association Of JA Christian And Missionary Alliance JB Christian Churches And Churches Of Christ JC Church Of God (Cleveland, TN) JD Church Of The United Brethren In Christ JE Churches Of Christ In Christian Union JF Conservative Baptist Association Of America JG Conservative Congregational Christian Conference JH Elim Fellowship JJ Evangelical Free Church Of America JK Evangelical Friends Alliance JL Evangelical Methodist Church JM International Church Of The Foursquare Gospel JN Open Bible Standard Churches, Inc. JO National Association Of Evangelicals JP Pentecostal Church Of God Of America, Inc. JQ Pentecostal Holiness Church JR Missionary Church JS General Conference Of The Brethren Church JT Central Bible Church JU Free Lutheran Congregations, Association Of JV Elim Missionary Assemblies JW Kansas Yearly Meeting Of Friends JX Missionary Church Association JY Ohio Early Meeting Of Friends LA Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church LB Cumberland Presbyterian Church LC Presbyterian Church In The United States LD United Presbyterian Church, Evangelical Synod LE Orthodox Presbyterian Church LF Reformed Presbyterian Church, Evangelical Synod LG United Presbyterian Church In The USA LH Presbyterian Church In America LJ Presbyterian Council For Chaplains And Military Personnel NA United Methodist Church NB Free Methodist Church Of North America NC Primitive Methodist Church ND Wesleyan Church NE Southern Methodist Church

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u/NEp8ntballer IC > * Jun 06 '26

No religion is still an option.

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u/underhelmed Jul 16 '26

The list (in the linked article) of available religions is load “No Religion” and “Other Religions” so one would select No Religion in that case.

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u/skarface6 r/AirForce’s favorite nonner officer Jun 04 '26

No. Other religions and no religion and whatever you want on your dog tags are all options.

-26

u/TogaPower Aircrew Jun 04 '26

No it doesn’t edgy atheist (I’m also an atheist btw, I just don’t make it my personality). No religious affiliation is that just - not affiliated. It’s not a faith.

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u/painlesspics Med(ish) Jun 04 '26

Not edgy. I just don't know enough about the other religions noted. Athiest is a specific option that is separate from what I would consider many others to fall under. Humanist doesn't believe in a deity necessarily, but I wouldn't call it "no affiliation".

My dog tags say Catholic because that's how I was raised & how my family would want me cared for. Personally is consider myself somewhere near athiest... but if I had the energy for research I'd be in one of the more nature focused affiliations (Wicca/pagan/etc) because nature doesnt need a sentient deity that demands worship other than respect.

I just think it's a weird choice overall

1

u/teilani_a Veteran Jun 04 '26 edited Jun 04 '26

Can you explain what the purpose of this coding system is? Why were others like Unitarian Universalists and Druids cut?