Here’s what to know about Pete Hegseth’s new Office of Religious Affairs

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(RNS) — In a “State of the Force” address on Wednesday (Sept. 30), Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced the creation of an Office of Religious Affairs that would elevate “spiritual health at the same level as physical health.”

The office, and its director, would report directly to him, Hegseth said, to ensure soldiers have “religious support” in the form of chaplains with religious expertise rather than “secular careerists” and “lawyers.”

“Our department is, you might say, putting on the full armor of God, because while we wage physical war, we all know the real battle is spiritual. God is good; evil is not, and America’s military must understand the difference,” Hegseth said during an hour-long talk at a base in Virginia.

A memo announcing the establishment of the Office of Religious Affairs said it would “obtain sufficient funding and resources for religious affairs,” and “oversee research, technology, and analytical tools to support and assess spiritual fitness, spiritual readiness, and spiritual resilience” of soldiers.

The memo said the creation of the office should not be…