{"id":28613,"date":"2025-08-21T12:08:49","date_gmt":"2025-08-21T16:08:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/?p=28613"},"modified":"2025-08-21T12:08:49","modified_gmt":"2025-08-21T16:08:49","slug":"is-pete-hegseths-christian-zeal-a-threat-to-national-security","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2025\/08\/is-pete-hegseths-christian-zeal-a-threat-to-national-security","title":{"rendered":"Is Pete Hegseth\u2019s Christian Zeal a Threat to National Security?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Left: DOD \/ X | Right: The White House<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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<\/em><\/a>, the incorporation of faith in recruitment ads and social media posts is leaving some members of the military divided. Additionally, Hegseth\u2019s connection to Douglas Wilson<\/a>, a reformed preacher with a strong following in Moscow, ID has left him open to further criticism.<\/p>\n

Chief spokesman Sean Parnell, however, has pushed back against criticism of Hegseth\u2019s support for Wilson. \u201cThe 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\u2019s writings and teachings,\u201d he said in a statement. Wilson has faced accusations of misogyny, with Hegseth reposting<\/a> a recent CNN <\/em>interview where Wilson comes under scrutiny for his views. Some of his congregants are interviewed supporting a repeal of the 19th<\/sup> Amendment, which gave women the right to vote.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo 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\u2019s submission?\u201d Traci West, professor emerita of Christian Ethics and African American Studies at Drew University Theological School, said<\/a> of Hegseth\u2019s sharing the interview.<\/p>\n

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. \u201cEvery time Hegseth does one of these things, I\u2019m getting messages from active duty troops, reaching out to me more and more, saying \u2018How do I get involved?\u2019 We\u2019ve got active-duty troops who recognize that the military they\u2019re serving in, has become a threat to democracy.\u201d He was also dismissive of the surges in recruitment numbers. \u201cWe\u2019re gonna see a lot of Christian nationalists join the military. They\u2019re not gonna perform very well, and our national security will suffer for a generation for it, because those that don\u2019t wash out will be toxic leaders,\u201d he said. \u201cThey won\u2019t 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.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":516,"featured_media":28616,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28613","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nIs Pete Hegseth\u2019s Christian Zeal a Threat to National Security?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Pete Hegseth\u2019s open faith as Defense Secretary sparks debate, with critics warning of Christian nationalism and military divisions.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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