Airmen and guardians are required to update their Religious Affiliation Codes as the Department of the Air Force revises its personnel data systems to better align with the Pentagon’s “standardized” list of faith designations.
On Friday, the Military Personnel Data System and its related accession systems transitioned away from its legacy “Faith and Belief Codes.” By standardizing the codes, the department is striving to boost the knowledge of the religious makeup of the force for chaplains to refine resource planning, according to a recent release.
All airmen and guardians have to update their RAC and ensure their Record of Emergency Data is up to date in an effort to improve demographic awareness.
“Our commitment to the spiritual readiness and religious freedom of every Airman and Guardian remains steadfast,” Richard Anderson, assistant secretary of the Air Force for Manpower and Reserve Affairs, said in the release.
“Transitioning to these standardized codes ensures our Chaplain Corps has the accurate demographic data they need to provide tailored resources and support to our Service members, while continuing to respect their individual convictions,” he continued.
Active-duty service members have until Oct. 16, while Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard have until Nov. 9 to update their information. Those who do not update their RAC before the deadline will have their records automatically changed to an “approved transition construct,” the statement says.
For identification tags, airmen and guardians are able to choose outside the standardized vMPF list and can specify their preference, the release says, and the data change is not meant to reduce or alter chaplain services or religious support.
The Military Religious Freedom Foundation, a religious freedom advocacy group for the armed forces, released a video criticizing this move, saying the organization received 38 new clients following the order.
The news comes as the Department of Defense largely reduced the number of officially recognized faith affiliations from over 200 to 31, with a large portion being Christian denominations. Following criticism of this change, the Pentagon updated its classifications, removing the subheading that gathered together the Christian denominations.
The classification list change was made following Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth ordering an overhaul of the Chaplain Corps in December 2025 in what he described as a “top-down cultural shift.”
Ahead of the faith affiliation list dwindling, Hegseth directed military chaplains to no longer wear rank insignia and to instead wear symbols of their faith, which the Air Force enforced with updated uniform guidance three months later.
Cristina Stassis is a reporter covering stories surrounding the defense industry, national security, military/veteran affairs and more. She previously worked as an editorial fellow for Defense News in 2024 where she assisted the newsroom in breaking news across Sightline Media Group.
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