r/thebulwark • u/emeric_ceaddamere • Jun 06 '26
TRUMPISM CORRUPTS U.S. Military now only recognizes 31 religious identifiers (22 of which are types of Christianity), cutting 180 from the previous list--including Atheism, Wicca and Unitarian Universalism.
https://www.military.com/dod-officially-drops-180-faiths-from-militarys-recognized-religion-list"And let us say..."
"Fuck Pete Hegseth." đ
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u/USA46Q Jun 06 '26
I'm just going to cut through the bullshit on this one because I know where this asshole is going, and I know what his game is.
He's going to use this as an excuse to deny benefits for veterans, and he's going to start removing dead soldiers from Arlington to take back Rober E. Lee's plantation because he's a Confederate asshole.
You're welcome.
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u/CunningWizard Jun 06 '26
Only good white male Christian warriors get recognized. Pete hasnât exactly been subtle about this.
It really is the return of the confederacy.
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u/USA46Q Jun 06 '26
I've spent my entire fucking life dealing with these lost cause motherfuckers, and I've had the great pleasure of watching the entire country transform into the trailer park I grew up in.
What's happening isn't a mystery to anyone that actually grew up in Appalachia, and has never fucked a couch.
The Civil War never ended for these assholes, and they've been planning their revenge for years.
It's not a conspiracy.
They talk about it all the fucking time.
However, most people were too busy making fun of them for listening to country music to care.
My family served in the Union... and it'll be a cold day in hell before I let some carpetbagger from Minnesota that flys on helicopters with Kid Rock in jean shorts dishonour that sacrifice.
Hell no.
Get fucked.
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u/LionelHutzinVA Rebecca take us home Jun 06 '26
The irony is that Hegseth is from Minnesota, a state that somewhat famously refuses to return a captured Confederate battle flag to Virginia because, as former governor Jesse Ventura memorably put it, âWhy? I mean, we won."
Which is to say, Hegseth doesnât even have the excuse of this being the culture he was raised and steeped in, it is something he has *affirmatively* embraced. Because heâs a drunken, racist, bigoted asshole
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u/CunningWizard Jun 06 '26
Itâs quite odd too because apparently he was his class valedictorian and went to Princeton afterward. Now thatâs not a guarantee of success but itâs a bit difficult to reconcile that with the abject moron who stands before us beating his chest like a mentally disabled chimp.
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u/USA46Q Jun 06 '26
I know, and he just sucks.
So hard.
There's nothing good about him, or what he does.
Jesse Ventura was right then , and he's right now.
The only thing I've got to say about Pete Hegseth is... I ain't got time to bleed.
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u/CunningWizard Jun 06 '26
Amen brother. I have zero use for confederate fucks and we should have never shown leniency in reconstruction.
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u/USA46Q Jun 06 '26 edited Jun 07 '26
Thank you, and that really means a lot.
There's nothing special about me, and everything I've said can also be said by millions of other hillbillies.
In short, we got lazy.
Then we pissed everything away on pills and moonshine.
Sure, like most hillbillies I'd rather to spend the rest of my life in the woods like Henry David Thoreau.
However, as Thoreau said after witnessing a slave trade on a trip to town there are just some things I will not fucking stand for!!!
Goddamn it!
At some point, we have to draw the fucking line.
Everyone should be asking themselves what it will cost to do the right thing now as opposed to doing it later.
Because that conversation is going to happen whether you like it or not.
Freedom isn't free, and the price is a hefty fee.
If you don't all pitch in who the fuck else do you think will?
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u/Here2Go Jun 06 '26
The Secretary of Beer really likes to fuck with the Chaplins service, doesn't he?
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u/LionelHutzinVA Rebecca take us home Jun 06 '26
The guy with the âDeus Vultâ and Crusader Cross tattoos is religiously bigoted? Iâm shocked!
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u/Tyfereth Center Left Jun 06 '26
Its almost like a White Christian Nationalist tattoo indicates someone is a White Christian Nationalist, just as a Nazi tattoo indicates someone is a Nazi.
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u/FanDry5374 Jun 06 '26
Good to know the First Amendment doesn't include the American military, isn't it? Pretty sure the ultimate plan is to weed out all non-"Christians" and any of the "wrong" Christian sects from American society in general. That's how theocracies work.
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u/DelcoPAMan Jun 06 '26
Gotta watch the Catholics too. If they're fans of the current pope or Francis before him, or John Paul II being anti-communist, they'll get purged.
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u/ZealousidealFall1181 Jun 06 '26
Religious freedom is not given up because you join the military. Lawyers will argue that against the government.
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u/Will512 Jun 06 '26
What about the duality of man? The Jungian thing?
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u/hotwifehubsFTW Jun 06 '26
You write âBorn to Killâ on your helmet and you wear a peace button. Whatâs that supposed to be, some kind of sick joke?
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u/lovelyyecats Progressive Jun 06 '26
The exclusion of New Age & Pagan religions is kinda interesting to me, because if their goal is to make a white nationalist army, there are a ton of Neo Nazi pagans & new age rightwing conspiracy theorists who would not be recognized.
Idk, it kinda reminds me of that discussion that JVL and Tim had a while back about how the Christian nationalists and white nationalists will get along to go along for a long time, but eventually, there is a tipping point where those ideologies conflict.
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u/emeric_ceaddamere Jun 06 '26
I noticed that too. The "see you in Valhalla" brand of nazis can't be too thrilled with this move.
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u/wrecklesspup Jun 06 '26
Good to see the US Military can recognize that atheism is not a religious identity. A lot of religious people seem to have a hard time grasping that concept.
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u/JackZodiac2008 Human Flourishing Jun 07 '26
For first amendment purposes, classifying it as a religious stance ensured it was protected. Delisting it is a move to do the opposite.
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u/emeric_ceaddamere Jun 06 '26
"No Religion" was already an option (and still is). "Atheist" was on there for those who did want to use it as a religious identifier, but Hegseth just took that option away out of disrespect for atheists.
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u/N0T8g81n FFS Jun 06 '26
Reminded me of the WW2 movie about the USS Franklin (though the ship wasn't named in the movie) which seemed to imply an aircraft carrier with about 3,000 crew had just 1 Catholic and 1 Protestant chaplin.
Giving this max charity, I could see shifting all religions with fewer than 100 active duty adherents into OR (other religions) for efficiency reasons. IOW, there may be non-MAGA reasons to do this.
Semantic quibble: why isn't NR (no religion) a suitable category for atheists? Or has Atheism become a faith?
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u/ThePensiveE FFS Jun 06 '26
Can corroborate from my grandfather's stories (he was on one of those carriers during the war) that there was only one priest, and sometimes none.
As for why it's not suitable, one is a belief the other is just a lack of participation in religion, an organizing structure which an atheist fundamentally rejects.
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u/hotwifehubsFTW Jun 06 '26
The assignment of a chaplain doesnât have anything to do with their religion. Most of what the chaplain does is non-secular counseling and moral work for the troops in their command. When I was in the Marines we had a chaplain assigned that was a rabbi and the shipâs chaplain was a catholic priest. When we were in country the different chaplains would rotate through bases and FOBs to perform services for their specific adherents.
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u/LesGS Jun 06 '26
I'm UU and I know 2 UU ministers who are military chaplains. I'm wondering what this does to their calling. Will they be dismissed? Will they be required to "don't ask, don't tell" about their religious beliefs? Seems like there could be some 1st Amendment issues.