Christian Nationalism and the Trump Administration

On March 4, shortly after the start of the United States-Israel war on Iran, Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke to reporters and said, "Let me explain to you guys this in simple English, okay? Iran is run by lunatics, religious fanatic lunatics." Regardless of whether or not Rubio's statement was correct, he might do well to look at his own government, especially Secretary of State Pete Hegseth, for signs of religious fanaticism. Hegseth has not shied away from stamping his own religious beliefs onto the Department of Defense, implementing practices that, in normal times, would be extremely controversial. Hegseth has imbued the war against Iran with a layer of extreme Christian nationalism that contradicts America's heritage and values.

Hegseth is a caricature of a white Christian nationalist. Blazoned across his right breast is a tattoo of a Crusader cross. He has the words "Deus Vult" tattooed on his right bicep. This phrase, meaning "God Wills It," is believed to be the Crusaders' battle cry. Another of Hegseth's tattoos is written in Arabic script and says "kafir," an Arabic word meaning "infidel." When Hegseth was sworn into office, he took his oath using his personal Bible, which, like his body, is adorned with a Crusader cross and the phrase "Deus Vult." A war against the Islamic Republic of Iran is probably right out of Hegseth's Crusader fantasies, though one might think his extreme religious views might make the U.S.'s Muslim and Jewish allies uncomfortable. That is not to mention Americans, including members of the armed services serving beneath him, who don't share Hegseth's religious beliefs.

Hegseth is a member of Pilgrim Hill Reformed Fellowship, a church affiliated with the Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches, which is described by PBS as "an archconservative network of Christian congregations." The CREC is led by Pastor Doug Wilson, who has said that he has no qualms about being identified as a "Christian Nationalist." Wilson told PBS that he wants the United States to be a Christian nation and that "If we succeed, this will be Christian America 2.0." Wilson has also said that women should be denied the right to vote, and he has defended slavery. Hegseth has ordered monthly prayer meetings at the Pentagon. So far, all of the guest speakers have been evangelical Christians, and, earlier this year, Doug Wilson was one of them. At the Pentagon, Wilson prayed for "a black swan revival," something he discussed in an article on his website. There, Wilson explained that we are getting close to an unexpected event that would trigger a revival of Christianity, writing that "the conditions for a black swan revival are improving by the day."

In the first prayer service after the war against Iran began, Hegseth himself spoke, providing a stridently militant perspective of Christianity. "Let every round find its mark against the enemies of righteousness and our great nation," Hegseth prayed. He also asked for "overwhelming violence of action against those who deserve no mercy." This earned Hegseth a rebuke from Pope Leo XIV who told a crowd of worshippers in St. Peter's Square that "Brothers and sisters, this is our God: Jesus, King of Peace, who rejects war, whom no one can use to justify war." The Pope continued, saying "He does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war, but rejects them, saying: Even though you make many prayers, I will not listen: your hands are full of blood."

On Good Friday this year, the Pentagon invited 3,500 employees to attend a Good Friday service in the Pentagon's chapel. Included in the invitation was the caveat that "Just a friendly reminder: There will be a Protestant Service (No Catholic Mass) for Good Friday today at the Pentagon Chapel." This was viewed by many as excluding Catholics from the service.

During the war, Hegseth has held regular press conferences, during many of which he has struck religious themes. For instance, last month he essentially delivered a prayer from the press room's podium, saying "May almighty God continue to bless our troops in this fight. 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."

Speaking to the media earlier this week after a ceasefire was announced between the U.S. and Iran, Hegseth portrayed the war as a tremendous U.S. victory. This, of course, is belied by the facts on the ground which leave Iran in a stronger position than before the war. Nevertheless, Hegseth again turned to religion saying, "God deserves all the glory. Tens of thousands of sorties, refuelings, and strikes, carried out under the protection of divine providence. A massive effort with miraculous protection." It is not clear whether Hegseth also believes that God is responsible for the bombing of the Iranian school that left more than 150 elementary school girls dead.

While Hegseth appears to believe in a God that supports violence and killing, the same God apparently also is in favor of accumulating wealth. As the Financial Times reported, "Hegseth’s broker at Morgan Stanley contacted BlackRock in February about making a multimillion-dollar investment in the asset manager’s Defense Industrials Active ETF, the people said, shortly before the US launched military action against Tehran." Making money off the dead bodies of soldiers under your command probably does not fit with most people's view of Christianity.

Although Hegseth has been the most prolific figure in the Trump administration promoting Christianity, he is far from the only one. On Easter Sunday this year, Marco Rubio used his official Secretary of State X account to send a tweet saying "He is Risen." Attached to the tweet was a video showing several Christian symbols while a speech Rubio had delivered at the funeral of Charlie Kirk played. Rubio's talk was about God and Jesus' death and rising. Almost immediately, the official State Department X account retweeted Rubio's post saying, "He is Risen, Indeed!" There would obviously be no controversy if Rubio was sending religious messages on his personal account, but using an official government account for such purposes crosses the line that separates church and state. Similarly, on Good Friday, the Department of Homeland Security tweeted a picture of Jesus on the cross captioned with a Bible verse. Added to the text was the line "Trust in God's plan." I am not sure that the tweet was meant to suggest that God supports mass deportations, but if so, I suspect that contention is not Biblically supported.

Even Trump has been trying to get in on the religion act. The day after Good Friday, he "truthed" a threat that "Hell will reign down on" Iranians, ending the post by saying "Glory be to GOD!" But, showing that Trump's commitment to Christianity might not be all that he suggests, the next day he "truthed" "Open the Fuckin’ Strait, you crazy bastards" and ended that post by saying "Praise be to Allah."

Trump's commitment to, or even knowledge of, Christianity is known to be negligible at best. He spent this Easter Sunday surveying the location of his proposed arch and then went to play golf. He didn't set foot in a church. Nevertheless, he has strong support among evangelical Christians and doesn't mind his administration's officials using their official positions to disseminate Christian messages. One wonders how Trump and his supporters would react to Mehmet Oz, Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, using his official social media accounts and government press conferences to offer Muslim prayers or to quote from the Quran? I suspect that would not be as easily tolerated.