On December 16, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced that the Army would remove its Spiritual Fitness Guide after only four months in service. The website referencing the spiritual guide is no longer visible on the Army’s website.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced the change in a video on social media on Tuesday. He largely addressed changes to the Army Chaplain Corps, in which he said that “chaplains have been minimized, viewed by many as therapists instead of ministers.” As part of his comments he criticized the recently implemented tool, saying that the Army is “tossing it.”
“It mentions God one time. That’s it,” Hegseth said. “It mentions feelings 11 times. It even mentions playfulness, whatever that is, nine times.”
Task & Purpose
There is no evidence that chaplains were “minimized,” and Hegseth does not elaborate on what “by many” means, with regard to chaplains being seen as therapists as opposed to strictly religious figures. Furthermore, the guide referencing “feelings” and “playfulness” does not mean that it lacked the potential to improve mental, emotional, and spiritual health.
The Spiritual Fitness Guide was introduced along with the Holistic Health and Fitness (H2F) program on August 1, 2025. It was designed to help soldiers in the “spiritual domain,” which refers to their mental and emotional well-being. The program’s “field-ready manual” promoted mindfulness and finding meaning in life, gave advice on coping with stress, and provided motivational quotes from American presidents and military leaders.
Hegseth removed the program prematurely; unless it is ever reintroduced, the efficacy of the guide will never be known. Given Hegseth’s complaint that it did not mention God enough, he appears to care more for imposing a Christian nationalist agenda, than providing a spiritual program that could feasibly benefit soldiers of all faiths, or no faith.
