At Pentagon Christian service, Hegseth prays for violence ‘against those who deserve no mercy’
WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is hosting his first monthly Christian prayer service at the Pentagon. Iran war began, praying Wednesday that “each round finds its mark.”
“It’s good to be here every month,” he told the assembled civilian employees and uniformed military personnel. “Given what tens of thousands of Americans are doing right now, this month is much more opportune right now.”
He recited the prayer that a military chaplain said for the first time to the troops that captured the then President. Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela.
“May every bullet make its mark against the enemies of righteousness and our great nation,” Hegseth prayed during the livestreamed ceremony. “Give them wisdom in every decision, endurance for the trial that lies ahead, unshakable unity, and overwhelming fierceness of action against those who do not deserve mercy.”
Hegseth frequently expresses his evangelical faith as head of the armed forces, depicting a Christian nation seeking to defeat its enemies with military force.
On Wednesday he read from the Psalms: “I pursued my enemies and overtook them, and did not turn back until I was destroyed.”
During the expanding Iranian war and global conflicts, Hegseth’s Christian rhetoric attracted attention. renewed reviewIncluding his past defense of the Crusades, brutal medieval wars that pitted Christians against Muslims.
Statements of faith are common in American public life, political parties, and religious traditions. Pentagon aides and Hegseth’s defenders cite examples from history, such as President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s support of providing Bibles to soldiers. Hegseth regularly quotes George Washington, who tried to establish the military chaplain corps.
Hegseth often goes beyond standard appeals for God to bless the country or its troops. Last week he asked Americans to pray for the soldiers “in the name of Jesus Christ.” On Wednesday he prayed again in Jesus’ name.
Ronit Stahl, author of “Listening the Faith: How Military Chaplaincy Shapes Religion and State in Modern America,” said it’s not unusual to speak of God in broad language in this context. “But the shift towards the specificity of Jesus Christ, and therefore of Christianity, and in Hegseth’s case of a particular form of Protestant Christianity, is new, especially coming from the defense minister.”
Stahl, a historian at the University of California at Berkeley, said: “What does it mean, in a country with no constitutionally religious institution, to have a leader who is not only religious in general or religious in a pluralistic sense, but also religious in a very specific sense?”
Advocacy group files lawsuit
belongs to Hegseth Congregation of Reformed Evangelical Churchesa conservative network founded by a self-described Christian nationalist DougWilson. CREC chaplains attended Hegseth’s Pentagon ceremonies at least three times, including Wilson, who preached there in February.
On Monday, a lawsuit was filed over the services of the League of Americans for the Separation of Church and State. The advocacy group has filed a similar lawsuit against the Department of Labor, where Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer hosts Hegseth-inspired monthly prayer meetings.
The lawsuit seeks to enforce a public records request from the Pentagon, beginning in December, seeking internal communications about worship services, their costs, and complaints received from guests and employees.
“Secretaries Hegseth and Chavez-DeRemer are abusing the power of their government positions and taxpayer-funded resources to impose their preferred religion on federal workers,” Rachel Laser, president and CEO of Americans United, said in a statement. “Even if these prayer services are offered voluntarily, there is pressure on federal employees to participate to appease their bosses.”
‘We are making the priest organization perfect again’
Military chaplains often provide worship services within the department of defense. As ordained chaplains and commissioned officers, they serve according to their particular traditions but provide pastoral care to troops of any faith or no faith.
Hegseth announced two reforms Tuesday aimed at what he called “making the priesthood great again.” He wants pastors to focus less on therapeutic “self-help and self-care” and more on God. In recent years, the military has become increasingly dependent on chaplains to address the growing numbers of troops. mental health distress.
Chaplains will no longer wear their insignia on their uniforms, but will instead be identified by religious insignia, he said in a video message. He argued the move would eliminate “uncomfort or anxiety” service members have about approaching officers for pastoral care.
He also said the military is reducing the number of faith rules or religious affiliations it recognizes. The military will now narrow down more than 200 religious affiliations to 31, which includes Wiccan, atheist and agnostic identities, as well as many smaller Protestant sects.
The Pentagon did not respond to multiple requests for more information about the changes. The Department of Defense has not yet released an updated list of religious affiliation codes.
Army religiously diverseAlmost 70% of soldiers identify as Christians, according to a 2019 congressional report. Almost a quarter of the soldiers were listed as “other/unclassified/unknown”; a small percentage of these were atheists/agonists, Jews, Muslims, and adherents of Eastern religions.
A turning point in Hegseth’s faith
At Wednesday’s worship service, Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins, an Air Force chaplain and Southern Baptist minister, preached a heartfelt message about overcoming fear and following Jesus. Collins, a former congressman, continues Hegseth’s pattern of having services chaired exclusively by evangelicals.
Hegseth began hosting worship at the Pentagon in May 2025, with Tennessee pastor Brooks Potteiger preaching. Potteiger will soon be moving to Washington DC to head Christ Church DC. new CREC congregation attended by Hegseth.
Hegseth, who was raised Baptist, said he experienced a turning point in his faith in 2018. He began attending an evangelical church in New Jersey; His pastor preached at the Pentagon last year.
He and his wife soon moved to a suburb of Nashville, Tennessee, to enroll their children in a classical Christian school affiliated with CREC. They began attending Pilgrim Hill Reformed Fellowship, Potteiger’s CREC church.
“We do it mostly because I need it more than anyone else,” Hegseth said of worship services at the Pentagon at a meeting of Christian broadcasters in February.
“We hear a lot from the ‘religious freedom’ crowd. They hate it,” he said. “The left wings are screaming, which means we’re right on target.”
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AP correspondent Konstantin Toropin contributed to this report.
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