Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has upended long‑standing norms by repeatedly invoking his religious faith, blurring the line between church and state in a way that has become particularly pronounced amid the Iran war, according to a new report.
Hegseth — who has a large Jerusalem cross tattooed across his chest — has long worn his Evangelical faith on his sleeve in a manner that has unsettled some military officials.
The former Fox News host has said that the U.S. was “founded as a Christian nation” and that it “remains a Christian nation in our DNA, if we keep it.” He’s also hosted Pentagon worship services that legal experts experts have branded “unprecedented,” The Washington Post reports. One faith leader invited to preach to servicemembers has said women shouldn’t be allowed to vote.
Hegseth’s proselytizing has drawn heightened scrutiny in connection with the U.S.–Israeli war against Iran, which has now stretched into its second month and shows no signs of abating, according to the Post.
During a press briefing on March 19, he encouraged viewers to pray for the success of U.S. troops in the Middle East. “To the American people, please pray for them every day on bended knee with your family, in your schools, in your churches, in the name of Jesus Christ,” he said.
On Wednesday, while speaking at a Pentagon prayer service, he called for “overwhelming violence of action against those who deserve no mercy,” asking that “wicked souls” be “delivered to the eternal damnation” in the fight against Iran, a Muslim-majority nation.
Some senior military commanders seem to have followed his lead, with the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, a watchdog organization, saying it has received more than 200 complaints from service members that their superiors had told troops it was all part of God’s plan that they be deployed to Iran.
During a mass on Sunday, Pope Leo appeared to deliver a thinly-veiled rebuke to this line of messaging. “This is our God: Jesus, king of peace, who rejects war, whom no one can use to justify war,” he told worshippers at the Vatican. “He does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war, but rejects them.”
An unnamed senior Army civilian described the current situation as “terrifying.”
If U.S. troops are trained to believe that “God is on our side,” the person told the Post, “what precludes us from doing anything we want to win? The strength of our military is our people, and their sense of belonging to their unit and their service.”
A Pentagon spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Independent.
A group of former high‑ranking military officials, chaplain corps leaders, and current Pentagon officers told the Post that they are troubled by both Hegseth’s overt religious rhetoric and the policy changes he has pursued.
Hegseth has eliminated dozens of military codes for various faith groups and axed the Army’s Spiritual Fitness guide, which he claimed focused on self‑care rather than “truth.” On Wednesday, the Pentagon also announced that U.S. military chaplains will now wear religious insignia on their uniforms, rather than their rank.
Retired Army Maj. Gen. Randy Manner said he has spoken with “dozens and dozens” of military chaplains who said those among them who do not identify with Hegseth “are being marginalized.”
The defense chief’s changes have undone longstanding efforts to foster religious inclusion in the armed forces, Rachel Laser, the president of Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, told the Post.
“It feels like decades worth of progress has been undone in 12 months,” an unnamed Air Force general added. “It’s heartbreaking and it’s heartbreaking to watch our chaplains try to navigate this.”
“The point was, it didn’t matter, and it shouldn’t have mattered, who you worship, or whether you worship at all. What mattered was doing the job and being mindful that you represent all Americans, no matter what they believe,” a person who served on the leadership team of a former chairman of the Joint Chiefs said. “I don’t approve of cramming your religious faith down people’s throats, and when the top of the chain couches these operations in this hyper-Christian tone, it flies in the face of the freedom of religion that the Constitution enshrines.”
Earlier this week, Americans United sued the Pentagon for failing to answer public records requests about Hegseth’s prayer services.
“Even if these prayer services are presented as voluntary, there is pressure on federal employees to attend in order to appease their bosses,” the organization wrote in a press release.
In response to a request for comment from the Post, Pentagon Press Secretary Kingsley Wilson said their office is “proud” to play host to religious services.
“Prayer services at the Pentagon are 100 percent voluntary and are not mandated whatsoever. It is not against the law to worship Christ voluntarily anywhere in the United States,” Wilson added. “The Secretary’s prayer services undoubtedly improve morale for those who choose to attend and are constitutionally protected. No special treatment or punishment is given as a result of one’s choice to attend these prayer services.”
