DAVIS COUNTY, Utah — No one in the state might be better suited to speak on the Department of Defense's short-lived decision to exclude the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from the list of "Christian" religions than former Utah congressman Chris Stewart.
A member of the LDS Church, Stewart served in the U.S. Air Force for over a decade flying jets such as the B-1B bomber before being elected to Congress in 2012.
So when Stewart first heard of the classification issue over the weekend, he was offended.
“Military is pretty deep in our family DNA, and at the same time, we’re very faithful in my faith in the Church of Jesus Christ," explained Steward. "That’s why this thing the Pentagon did was deeply offensive to me and arrogant thing to do.
"Such a misstep."
On Monday, after a tremendous amount of backlash from current political leaders in Utah, the Pentagon reorganized its religions by denomination and removed the Christian category.
What does it mean to be a Christian in Utah and across the world?
Hill Air Force Base is a prominent part of Davis County and the home to people of many religions, including members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Stewart said there aren’t many LDS Chaplains in the military, so they often go to other chaplains in the Christian community.
“A lot of us would talk to them, and we were glad for their support, but doesn’t it make it harder now for those chaplains to be told, ‘Well, the LDS community isn’t Christian, so they’re not really your responsibility,'" said Stewart. "It’s just bonkers.
"Again, such a misreading of the military environment and an entire misreading of my faith and what we actually believe.”
While Stewart admitted the original Department of Defense decision could have impacted many military members, he was glad the Pentagon corrected it so quickly.
