Who Gets To Define Your Faith?

A Pentagon classification change has sparked a debate that goes far beyond one church.

There are certain questions in America that are bigger than politics.

There are certain questions that are bigger than Republicans and Democrats, bigger than elections, bigger than whatever outrage is currently trending on social media.

One of those questions is remarkably simple:

Who gets to define your faith?

Apparently, according to a recent Pentagon policy change, the answer might be “the federal government.”

The controversy began when the Department of Defense dramatically reduced the number of religious affiliation codes used by the military. Officials say the move was administrative, reducing more than 200 classifications down to just 31 in order to simplify chaplain services and resource allocation.

Fair enough.

Government databases are not exactly known for their elegance.

But somewhere along the way, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints found itself removed from the military’s designated list of Christian faiths.

That decision immediately drew criticism from Utah Senators Mike Lee and John Curtis, both members of the faith, who argued that the federal government should not be deciding whether their church is Christian.

And honestly?

I think they have a point.

This Isn’t About Theology

Now before anyone fires up the comment section, understand what I’m saying—and what I’m not saying.

This is not a theological debate.

People have argued for nearly 200 years about whether Mormonism fits within traditional Christian doctrine. Entire libraries have been written on the subject. I am not interested in settling that argument, and neither should the Pentagon.

The question isn’t whether a Baptist, Catholic, Methodist, Evangelical, or Latter-day Saint agrees with someone else’s theology.

The question is whether a federal agency should be making that determination at all.

Because once government agencies begin deciding who qualifies as what religion, we’re no longer discussing theology.

We’re discussing power.

The Problem With Government Labels

Today it’s Latter-day Saints.

Tomorrow it’s another denomination.

The day after that it might be Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs, Humanists, Wiccans, or any number of groups that don’t fit neatly into a bureaucratic spreadsheet.

History teaches us that governments are generally terrible at religion.

The Founders understood this.

That’s why the First Amendment doesn’t empower the government to define faith. It protects the right of individuals to exercise it.

America works best when government remains neutral.

Not hostile toward religion.

Not supportive of religion.

Not acting as the referee of religion.

Neutral.

If a church says it follows Jesus Christ, government shouldn’t be in the business of correcting it.

If an atheist says they are an atheist, government shouldn’t be reclassifying them into something more administratively convenient.

If a soldier, sailor, airman, Marine, Guardian, or Coast Guardsman identifies with a particular faith tradition, that identity should belong to them—not to a bureaucrat updating a database.

Intent Versus Impact

The Pentagon insists this is merely an administrative issue.

Maybe it is.

I believe them when they say they are trying to simplify the system.

But intent and impact are two different things.

The moment Americans begin feeling that government agencies are defining their beliefs rather than recording them, trust begins to erode.

And trust is something our institutions seem to have in increasingly short supply.

A Simple Principle

There is an old principle that applies here regardless of religion, politics, or denomination:

People generally get to tell you who they are.

Government’s job is to listen.

Not edit.

Not categorize.

Not reinterpret.

Just listen.

Because the moment government decides it has the authority to define your faith, it won’t be long before it believes it has the authority to define something else too.

Jeffery Fogg is the publisher of ThisIsTopeka.com . This column originally appeared in ThisIsTopeka.com and is republished here with permission.