Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth recently posted a video on the social media platform X that showed Christian pastors speaking against women’s right to vote. The post drew attention to Hegseth’s strong personal connections to a Christian nationalist movement and its leader, Doug Wilson.
AP News found a video of a nearly seven-minute CNN report about Wilson, who helped start the Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches (CREC), shared by Hegseth. In the video, one pastor from Wilson’s church argued that women’s voting rights should be taken out of the Constitution.
Another pastor suggested that in a perfect society, households should vote as a single unit instead of individuals. A woman who belonged to the same church also stated that she follows her husband’s authority. Hegseth’s post included the phrase “All of Christ for All of Life” along with the video.
Hegseth seems to be promoting the loss of voting rights
The post gained a lot of attention, receiving thousands of likes and shares. Reactions were mixed, with some users agreeing with the pastors’ views while others were troubled that a high-ranking defense official was supporting such Christian nationalist ideas. Doug Pagitt, a pastor and leader of the progressive evangelical group Vote Common Good, said these ideas came from a “small fringes of Christians keep” and called Hegseth’s promotion of them “very disturbing.”
All of Christ for All of Life. https://t.co/QqXhqZFStv
— Pete Hegseth (@PeteHegseth) August 8, 2025
On Friday, Pentagon chief spokesman Sean Parnell stated that Hegseth is a “proud member” of a church linked to CREC and that he “very much appreciates many of Mr. Wilson’s writings and teachings.” This is not the first time Hegseth’s religious activities have been discussed publicly, especially since information keeps leaking from the white house.
In May, he invited his own pastor, Brooks Potteiger, to the Pentagon to lead Christian prayer sessions. These events took place inside the government building during work hours and were the first in a series. Invitations were sent to military and civilian employees through their official government email addresses. Wilson has said, “I’d like to see the nation be a Christian nation, and I’d like to see the world be a Christian world.” This may be the time for Trump to step in and shush Hegseth again.
