Utah delegation defends LDS Church as 'Christian' after new Pentagon classification
Curtis criticized the new codes and said he was working to secure a correction.
SOURCE CHECK
TAP FOR WHYCredibility rates East Idaho News, where this article appeared. The other scores rate the article itself.
The page reproduces reporting attributed to KSL, an established local newsroom, rather than presenting the reporting as East Idaho News’s own. The article includes named attribution and the department’s stated rationale, though the page provides limited information about corrections practices.
- Source type — Reporting is attributed to KSL, an established regional news outlet.
- Transparency — The article identifies KSL and names the original reporters in its opening credit.
- Author attribution — The page credits EastIdahoNews.com Staff while also identifying the KSL byline.
- Editorial standards — The article presents attributed statements from lawmakers and the Department of War; correction-policy information is not apparent in the text.
The article attributes lawmakers’ objections and the department’s explanation, and includes details from the official change and the new list. It offers useful context about disagreement over the Church’s Christian identity, but includes few independent sources beyond the official statements and the lawmakers’ posts.
HOW WE SCORE ↗The article gives prominent space to lawmakers objecting to the classification but also reports the department’s purpose and its statement that the codes do not determine a faith’s legitimacy. It briefly notes that some Christians dispute the Church’s Christian identity.
- Counterarguments presented — The department’s explanation and the statement that some Christian faiths question the Church’s Christian identity provide countervailing context.
- Source diversity — The article includes multiple Utah lawmakers and an official department explanation, but few independent voices.
- Loaded language — Strong judgments appear as quotations attributed to lawmakers rather than as the article’s own wording.
The article reports the lawmakers’ objections alongside the Department of War’s explanation and does not adopt an explicit political position.
- Language tone — Mostly factual language, with critical terms presented as direct quotations from lawmakers.
- Source selection — Includes statements from the Utah lawmakers and the department’s account of the change.
- Framing — Frames the story around the delegation’s response while also describing the department’s stated purpose.
Original publisher not identified
This article credits another publisher, which ChamberLight has not identified, so the scores are East Idaho News's own.
Utah lawmakers criticized the Pentagon’s new religious-affiliation codes for listing The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints separately from other Christian denominations. Sen. John Curtis said he is working to secure a correction, while the department said the changes were intended to help chaplains provide religious support, not judge faiths’ legitimacy.
Sens. John Curtis and Mike Lee objected to the Pentagon’s new religious-affiliation codes, and Rep. Mike Kennedy also posted that Latter-day Saints are Christian and the classification should be corrected. Curtis said he was working to ensure a correction. The article notes that some Christian faiths question whether the LDS Church is Christian, while many Latter-day Saints object to not being counted as Christians.
The Department of War said the change reduced more than 200 affiliation categories to 31 to help chaplains and religious support personnel assess units’ needs, and said it was not a judgment on the legitimacy of any faith. The new list identifies 21 Christian religions with a second name but lists the LDS Church separately; the article says service members are not limited to the new codes when selecting identification-tag information.
Community verdict
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SWIPE →Utah senator seeking a correction to the Pentagon’s religious-affiliation codes
Utah senator criticizing the Church’s separate listing in the new codes
Lee's version of this story ↗Department of War senior advisor who announced the change to religious-affiliation categories
Utah representative who called for correction of the classification
Part of a bigger story
3 OUTLETSThe Pentagon’s initial chaplain faith categories listed the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints separately from Christian categories, prompting John Curtis and other Utah lawmakers to object. The Pentagon later revised the categories. Center outlets pair Curtis’s objections with the Pentagon’s explanation of the categories; later coverage also notes that revisions changed labels for other faith groups.
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