Reclassify

Comments

11 responses to “Reclassify”

1. 

   twiliter

   Oct 1, 2026 2:25 AM

   Because we’re all Christians whether we like it or not, right? When we get to the pearly gates we’ll all see the errors of our ways, whether we’re (insert religious belief here) or non believers. I have heard this condescending horseshit more than a few times. Hegseth is simplifying because he’s an arrogant simpleton.

   Let the impeachment proceedings resume.
2. 

   Papito

   Oct 1, 2026 3:09 AM

   Yes, Hegseth is a pinhead, a popinjay, a threat to our nation’s military readiness, and I would love the FBI to have a gander at his hard drive, but it’s worth noting that it doesn’t say atheists have to reclassify as agnostic; “no religion” is also a choice.
3. 

   Mostly Cloudy

   Oct 1, 2026 4:28 AM

   Maybe I’m reading too much into this, but that picture of the USAF uniform has a cross sewn on to the uniform.

   Medieval Crusader knights also had a cross sewn on to their tunics before setting off on the “armed pilgrimage” against Muslims, Baltic pagans or heretical Christians. And Pete Hegseth is known to be obsessed with the Crusades. He infamously has the Crusader slogan “deus vult” tattooed on his arm and a Crusader cross on his chest.

   Anyway, boo to Hegseth and his attempt to tell US soldiers what they can and can’t believe in.

   https://www.dw.com/en/the-crusades-how-a-medieval-holy-war-still-shapes-politics/a-79203784
4. 

   Papito

   Oct 1, 2026 5:49 AM

   Yeah, Cloudy, that part kind of disturbed me too. I take it they plan on sewing little stars of David onto the chest of Jewish service members… where have I heard of that before?
5. 

   Sackbut

   Oct 1, 2026 8:30 AM

   That’s a chaplain’s uniform. The recent change regarding chaplains is that they used to wear rank insignia along with religious insignia, and now they only wear religious insignia. I wouldn’t put it past Hegseth to push for religious insignia on regular personnel uniforms, but thus far that doesn’t seem to have been proposed.
6. 

   Freemage

   Oct 1, 2026 11:30 AM

   Papito:

   Yes, Hegseth is a pinhead, a popinjay, a threat to our nation’s military readiness, and I would love the FBI to have a gander at his hard drive, but it’s worth noting that it doesn’t say atheists have to reclassify as agnostic; “no religion” is also a choice.

   A marginal improvement, but it’s worth noting that there’s also a very real distinction between these three. “No religion” simply means having no personal interest in such matters. “Atheism”, OTOH, is generally taken to mean an active refutation of the notion of divine entities, miracles, and so forth. Atheism is thus an actual belief, namely that history, philosophy and science have actually debunked all the various religious beliefs posited, and thus that none of them are valid.

   Disinterest =/= Rejection.
7. 

   Ophelia Benson

   Oct 1, 2026 3:25 PM

   Hmm. Surely atheism can be way more minimal than that. It’s just non-theism after all. It can include argument but it doesn’t have to. It can be just the default. “Who/what is this ‘god’ of whom you speak?”
8. 

   twiliter

   Oct 1, 2026 3:45 PM

   Exactly. Atheism doesn’t assert anything, it’s simply a negation. Religious types try to complicate it unnecessarily.
9. 

   twiliter

   Oct 1, 2026 4:23 PM

   For example —

   Religious type: “So you’re saying there is no God?”

   Atheist: “No, you’re saying there is a God, and I don’t believe you.”

   It really is a minimalistic argument. A lack of belief is not a belief.
10. 

    Francis Boyle

    Oct 2, 2026 1:24 AM

    The problem with the “no religion” option is that you just know that it’s going to be interpreted as “you believe everything I do but you just can’t be bothered”. The religious just can’t help interpreting atheism as sin.
11. 

    twiliter

    Oct 2, 2026 2:34 AM

    Indeed, religion refers to the practice of beliefs, not the beliefs themselves. So “no religion” can be used to *partially* describe atheism, because there is no practice, but it’s an insufficient description.