During his brief tenure as Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth has been open about his Christian faith. He has attended and hosted several prayer meetings for his department and spoken openly about how his faith guides him. That zeal, however, has left some uneasy about faith on public display and has left Hegseth open to accusations of Christian nationalism. According to The Guardian, the incorporation of faith in recruitment ads and social media posts is leaving some members of the military divided. Additionally, Hegseth’s connection to Douglas Wilson, a reformed preacher with a strong following in Moscow, ID has left him open to further criticism.

Chief spokesman Sean Parnell, however, has pushed back against criticism of Hegseth’s support for Wilson. “The Secretary is a proud member of a church affiliated with the Congregation of Reformed Evangelical Churches, which was founded by Pastor Doug Wilson. The Secretary very much appreciates many of Mr. Wilson’s writings and teachings,” he said in a statement. Wilson has faced accusations of misogyny, with Hegseth reposting a recent CNN interview where Wilson comes under scrutiny for his views. Some of his congregants are interviewed supporting a repeal of the 19^th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote.

“To have the Secretary of Defense repost this message is especially worrisome … because it resonates so strongly with this notion of threat. What role does Pete Hegseth see the military playing in carrying out, in enforcing, in reinforcing this Christian nationalist understanding of women’s submission?” Traci West, professor emerita of Christian Ethics and African American Studies at Drew University Theological School, said of Hegseth’s sharing the interview.

Kristofer Goldsmith, an Iraq war veteran and the CEO of non-profit watchdog Task Force Butler, a watchdog against extremism, stated members of the military have expressed concern about the growing faith focus in the military. “Every time Hegseth does one of these things, I’m getting messages from active duty troops, reaching out to me more and more, saying ‘How do I get involved?’ We’ve got active-duty troops who recognize that the military they’re serving in, has become a threat to democracy.” He was also dismissive of the surges in recruitment numbers. “We’re gonna see a lot of Christian nationalists join the military. They’re not gonna perform very well, and our national security will suffer for a generation for it, because those that don’t wash out will be toxic leaders,” he said. “They won’t be able to develop the next generation of troops that follow, and that is going to have a disastrous effect on the United States and on the global stage.”