With about half of Americans supporting some version of Christian nationalist ideology, it's impossible to ignore the centrality of that ideology to Trump-Hegseth's war against Iran.
As Zachary B. Wolf says,
"Hegseth has long wanted to reprogram the country.
'America was founded as a Christian nation,' he said at a recent National Prayer Breakfast."
#Trump #Hegseth #Iran #war #WhiteChristianNationalism
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https://www.cnn.com/2026/03/13/politics/hegseth-iran-israel-war-american-crusade-analysis
"Hegseth talks often about how God is on his side and has said that Iran shouldn’t doubt the US’s resolve because it is backed by God. He said, 'Our capabilities are better. Our will is better. Our troops are better. The providence of our almighty God is there protecting those troops, and we’re committed to this mission.'”
~ Benjamin Cremer
#Trump #Hegseth #Iran #war #WhiteChristianNationalism
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https://benjamin-cremer.kit.com/posts/there-is-a-dime-for-peace-and-a-dime-for-war
During a recent press conference at the Pentagon, he also quoted Psalm 44 by saying, 'Blessed be the Lord, my rock, who trains my hands for war and my fingers for battle.'
At the national prayer breakfast, Hegseth emphasized his belief that America is a 'Christian nation' and needs to defend that identity."
"He then adjusted FDR’s 'arsenal of democracy' quote to say, ''Not only are we warriors armed with the arsenal of freedom, we ultimately are armed with the arsenal of faith.'
His beliefs take on a deeper and quite disturbing dynamic when one considers his tattoos. He has a Jerusalem Cross on his chest, which is a symbol tied to the Crusades, when many European Christians attempted to retake the Holy Land from Muslims."
"He also has the phrase 'Deus Vult' as a tattoo, which was the Latin rallying cry of Crusaders during the First Crusade in 1095. It means 'God Wills It.'
Hegseth has not been shy about his deep distrust of Islam and opposition to Muslims. In his book 'American Crusade,' he said that America faces a 'Crusade moment' that is similar to the 11th-century Christian crusades his tattoos point to."
"According to Hegseth, Islamists are enabled by American leftists against God-fearing Christian Americans. He wrote, 'We don’t want to fight, but, like our fellow Christians one thousand years ago, we must,' and he then envisioned in his book that the United States would go to war alongside Israel.
This is who is directing our military and the war in Iran right now."
Rachel Monroe looks at Mercy Culture, a huge nondenominational evangelical megachurch in Fort Worth, for a glimpse into how white Christian nationalist ideas increasingly control the country via the Republican party under Trump.
"People not attuned to the evangelical world may have missed the growing prominence of hyper-politicized churches such as Mercy Culture, which have become a key wing of the maga coalition."
#Trump #Republicans #WhiteChristianNationalism
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https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/letter-from-the-southwest/the-new-faces-of-christian-nationalism
"Compared with the religious right of previous generations, this cohort of pastors, influencers, and self-described prophets offers up a version of worship that’s at once more mystical, with an emphasis on supernatural powers, and more militaristic, with heightened political rhetoric. Many adopt a Christian-nationalist framework, arguing that the United States was founded as a Christian nation and should be governed as such."
"[Matthew D.] Taylor believes that the spread of what he calls maga Christianity is serving as cover for the authoritarian turn in right-wing politics: if your enemies are controlled by demonic forces, why would you respect how they voted?"
"Christian nationalism is arguably the dominant political force in Texas today, thanks, in part, to multimillion-dollar donations from two West Texas billionaires, Tim Dunn and Farris Wilks…."
William Lindsey 
