Several US military chaplains have alleged that Pete Hegseth’s personal interpretation of Christianity has become a requirement for advancement in the military ranks.

Christian chaplains told the Military Religious Freedom Foundation that upon joining a new unit, they were immediately asked to sign up for “the commander’s crisis prayer phone tree.”

They described this as a prayer network used by their commander “to ask for the Lord’s blessings and collective prayers to help those going through any sort of hard times.”

“Even though both of us happen to be Christians, we were taken aback by this question,” wrote the soldiers.

The men said they were “insulted” at what seemed an attempt to make sure they were “in sync” with the commander’s personal interpretations of the Bible.

This comes as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has claimed that Army chaplains are “not emotional support officers” or “therapists.”

A separate military chaplain, who wished to remain anonymous, told the Daily Beast that he has been subject to oversight in his role—and that certain interpretations of Christianity were being “rewarded.”

“If those determining what constitutes ‘effective ministry’ also expect alignment with a particular religious or ideological perspective, the evaluation system becomes more than a measure of ministry performance,” he said. “It becomes a mechanism for shaping the future composition of the Chaplain Corps.”

Acting Pentagon Press Secretary Joel Valdez has claimed that allegations of spiritual coercion are “false.”