Pete Hegseth’s Pentagon pulpit pushes Christian nationalism into the heart of Washington

Pete Hegseth, the Pentagon’s top brass and former Fox News host, has brought a hardline Christian nationalist agenda right into the corridors of power. Earlier this year, Hegseth invited Doug Wilson, a pastor who opposes women’s suffrage, to preach at the Defense Department. This was no isolated incident. Six months prior, Hegseth attended the inaugural service of a new Washington church planted by Wilson’s Idaho-based Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches (CREC), a network known for its deeply patriarchal and authoritarian views.

CREC’s roughly 160 congregations worldwide push a vision of America as a Christian nation ruled by male heads of household — a claim historians and legal scholars widely reject. The group openly dismisses women’s right to vote, believing instead that men should vote on behalf of their families. They celebrate the overturning of Roe v. Wade and pray for the reversal of same-sex marriage rights. Immigration is framed as evidence of America’s “drift” away from its “Christian roots.”

Hegseth, who sports a tattoo reading “Deus Vult” (God wills it), has become a poster boy for this militant Christian patriarchy. His public prayers at the Pentagon invoke violent imagery, calling for every bullet to “find its mark against the enemies of righteousness and our great nation.” Doug Wilson’s church aims to convert Washington from a “Babylon” of pride and idolatry into a “New Jerusalem,” a religious stronghold influencing lawmakers, bureaucrats, and everyday citizens alike.

Experts warn this fusion of religion and government threatens the constitutional separation of church and state. The First Amendment explicitly prohibits any state religion and guarantees religious freedom — principles at odds with CREC’s agenda. Yet under Trump’s administration, Christian nationalism has gained dangerous mainstream traction, emboldening figures like Hegseth to bring these extremist views into federal institutions.

This is not a fringe movement anymore. It is a calculated effort to reshape American democracy in the image of a Christian theocracy, undermining voting rights and civil liberties along the way. As this church plants deeper roots in Washington, the question remains: how far will this Christian nationalist takeover go — and who will push back?