Hegseth prays for ‘overwhelming violence’ during Pentagon Christian service; Military Times, March 26, 2026

Cristina Stassis , Military Times; Hegseth prays for ‘overwhelming violence’ during Pentagon Christian service

"During the Pentagon’s monthly prayer service Wednesday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth prayed for “overwhelming violence” against “those who deserve no mercy.”...

Hegseth, a Christian who belongs to the Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches, has spoken about his faith in speeches, raising concerns that he is associating the Christian faith with politics and the military.

The CREC is a conservative network co-founded by Douglas Wilson who was the guest speaker at February’s Pentagon prayer ceremony after other CREC pastors attended previous services.

Hegseth, meanwhile, has sought to reform the military’s Chaplain Corps with the goal of refocusing on ministry since “a chaplain is first and foremost a chaplain and an officer second,” he said in a Tuesday video announcement. He announced that chaplains will no longer wear their rank insignia, but instead, will wear symbols of their faith."

This Evangelical Pastor Wants to Replace Women’s Right to Vote; The New York Times, August 14, 2025

David French, The New York Times ; This Evangelical Pastor Wants to Replace Women’s Right to Vote

"There are many reasons for Wilson’s rise, but one of them is squarely rooted in politics. When Donald Trump won the presidency in 2016, he inherited a recent Republican tradition: The Republican president isn’t just a political leader — he’s a de facto religious leader as well.

Leaders inspire imitators, and all too many people are open to pastors exhibiting the same values as the president they admire so much. Or to put it another way, when George W. Bush was in office, “compassionate conservatism” was en vogue. And now? When Trump runs an administration where it often appears that cruelty is the point, well then, empathy is a sin. It’s not that men like Wilson had no audience before Trump; it’s that there is a new demand for Wilson’s message because it matches the Trumpist spirit of this evangelical age.

Trump is a profane, authoritarian man who delights in attacking his critics. Wilson is also a profane, authoritarian man who similarly delights in personal attacks. He created something he calls “No Quarter November,” a month when he grants Christians the right to “hoist the Jolly Roger and just go to war with the world.” His aggression is referred to as the “Moscow mood.”"