7 ms·

Here's the previous list: https://americanhumanist.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Faith-and-Belief-Codes-for-Reporting-Personnel-Data-of-Service-Members.pdf htt

• tptacek 3mo ago
  Got to love a system that recognizes both Eckankar and "Heathen".
  • herewulf 3mo ago
    Heathen is yet another term to describe Germanic paganism which has a similar etymology as the Latin originated word "pagan"[1]. It describes the people "of the heath"[2] — the rural folk who were the last to change their beliefs (as opposed to the city folk following the latest trends). English is unique among Germanic languages for preferring non-native vocabulary but the cognate of "heathen" is extant in every other Germanic language to describe pre-Christian belief. Among modern reconstructionists there is no consensus for a term to describe a belief system that never had a name (because prior to Christianity, it didn't need one). That it is also a Christian pejorative term is irrelevant to the former DoD list. [1]: https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/paganus https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/paganus [2]: https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/heathen#English https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/heathen#English
• big85 3mo ago
  It seems the deleted entries mainly consisted of Protestant denominations and Pagan groups. They also removed Atheist as a specific religion, and various entries like None Provided and Unknown. Many two-letter codes were changed, which may be confusing if you have groups of soldiers with a mix of old and new dog-tags.