Donald Trump’s election as President in 2024 was due at least in part to his strong support among “Christian nationalists.” Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is particularly associated with Christian nationalism; his pastor, Doug Wilson, is a prominent voice in that movement. Among the positions espoused by Christian nationalists is the concept of “household voting,” which entails one vote per household, cast by the husband. But what does the Bible say about this?

Last summer, Pastor Wilson was interviewed by CNN in regard to his position that women should not be allowed to vote (see Pete Hegseth Reposts Pastor’s Claim: “Women Shouldn’t Vote”). That shouldn’t be a surprise, because Wilson’s church does not allow women to serve in any leadership roles. That position is based on two passages from Paul’s epistles: Ephesians 5:23-24 and 1 Timothy 2:12.

In that vein, “household voting” is the concept that, in a “Christian nation,” each household should receive one vote, with the husband casting it. That means that the wife would have no real voice in that vote, because if she disagreed with her husband, he would overrule her as the “head of the household.” As noted in the article about Pastor Wilson, he takes it further, saying that women should not be allowed to vote.

In other words, any “household” without a husband would not have the right to vote. Divorced women – regardless of the reason or who filed for divorce – would be excluded. The same would be true for widows and for single women who had never been married. While that was true in the United States prior to the Nineteenth Amendment to the Constitution in 1920, the United States has recognized women’s right to vote for over a century. The Christian nationalist movement evidently would move to revoke the Nineteenth Amendment in order to implement “household voting.”

So why is this movement gaining attention now? The New York Times recently published a story about household voting, which certainly caught the eye of some people. On a more fundamental level, however, many believe that the SAVE America Act promoted by President Trump will have the effect of disenfranchising many married women (although not directly to implement household voting). One perceived impact of the SAVE America Act’s requirement of proof of citizenship and identification is that married women who changed their names at marriage would have IDs that do not match their birth certificates. This potential impact, along with the increased attention on the small minority who promote “household voting,” has elevated this issue in the national discussion.

But what does the Bible say? Ephesians 5:23-24 states that, in the family, the husband is “the head of the wife.” However, those verses must be interpreted in the broader context of Ephesians 5. For example, Paul calls women to submit to their husbands “as you do to the Lord” (Ephesians 5:22). He also calls husbands to love their wives “just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her” (Ephesians 5:25).

In 1 Timothy 2:11-12, Paul states that “a woman should learn in quietness and full submission. I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man; she must be quiet.” It is important to consider two points regarding Paul’s teaching in this passage. First, Paul says, “I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man.” He does not say, “God does not permit” this. Paul’s use of “I” language here recalls 1 Corinthians 7:10-12. He first states a command that he says is “from the Lord” (verses 10-11). He then gives additional guidance, which he says comes from him and not the Lord (verse 12). Clearly, it is not unheard of for Paul to make statements about his personal practices that do not rise to the level of divine authority. Many biblical scholars place Paul’s statements in 1 Timothy 2 in this category.

The second point to remember is that Paul grounds this teaching in the example of Adam and Eve (see 1 Timothy 2:13-14). It can be argued that Paul’s interpretation disagrees with that of other portions of Scripture. For example, in Genesis 3, God first holds Adam responsible for their sin, even though Eve was the one who first ate the fruit. Also, while Paul emphasizes that Adam was created first, Genesis does not support a lesser position for women based on their creation. Genesis 1 states that God created “mankind” in His image – male and female. Finally, the submission of a wife to a husband was the result of the Fall; that was not the way God intended His creation to be. Arguably, in the Church, God works to restore His creation to the way He intended it to be. This logic is supported by Paul’s statement in Galatians 3 that there is no “male and female” in Christ, “for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28).

On a very basic level, it is hard to square an attempt to disenfranchise women with Christ’s practice of valuing women. This past Sunday, at Easter worship, many churches read Luke’s account of the resurrection (Luke 24:1-8). “The women” were the first ones to reach the empty tomb; they heard the “two men” who appeared to them remind them “how He told you, while He was still with you in Galilee: ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day rise again.’ Then they remembered His words.” Jesus had taught them, along with the male disciples, beginning back in Galilee. Jesus honored these women by appearing to them that Easter morning (Matthew 28:9). In John’s account, Jesus appeared first to Mary Magdalene, even after Peter and John had visited the empty tomb. If Jesus valued these women and entrusted them with the message to tell His disciples, why should His Church seek to devalue them? And in the political realm, why would Christians want fewer Christian voters, which would be the result of taking away the right of women to vote?