06/08/2026
A letter Rev. Susan Odessky wrote to a local newspaper.
On Friday, June 4, 2026, the United States Department of Defense (DOD) removed 180 separate religious affiliations from the US military’s list of religious affiliations. This includes the codes for Unitarian Universalists, among many others, including Humanists, members of Pagan traditions and many others. Members of the eliminated faith groups will be categorized as “other” in the military’s religious affiliation codes.
This change means that Service members of these groups now only classified as “other” will not be able to select their specific religious identity in their personnel records. This may make it more difficult for uniformed members of religious groups classified as “other” to access the spiritual care they need. In all, the DOD has reduced the number of religious faiths from over 200 down to 31.
There are more than 1 million Unitarian Universalists practicing their faith across the United States. Unitarian Universalism (UU) is a progressive, inclusive, and non-creedal religion, and we are united by our shared values centered around love, equity and the free search for truth and meaning.
As a Minister of a small, but thriving UU congregation in Stroudsburg, I find the DOD’s decision to effectively erase our faith tradition and that of so many others to be in violation of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution’s Establishment Clause calling for the separation of Church and State to be an immoral attempt to effectively “other” or erase certain religions. The Poconos has long been home to a diversity of religious faiths. As we approach the 250th anniversary of the founding of our country, I hope that this diversity of faiths continues to thrive in our community and throughout our country, despite efforts by our government’s military leadership to erase many of them.
