Invoking “faith” in #wartime, Pete #Hegseth breaks norms & worries critics
The #defense secretary is upending decades-old norms, & current & former leaders say his proselytizing violates the #Constitution & undermines troop cohesion.
#law #Trump #Republicans #FreedomOfReligion #Christianity #Evangelism #NewApostolicReformation #NAR #military #war #NationalSecurity #geopolitics
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2026/03/29/pege-hegseth-christianity/
And as chair of the #JointChiefs of Staff in the late 2000s, with #troops in Iraq & Afghanistan, Navy Admiral Mike Mullen kept Mass off his public schedule, aiming to keep the particulars of his Catholic faith private.
But those longtime norms are being upended by the #proselytizing #Christian campaign of #Defense Sec Pete #Hegseth, say multiple former high-ranking #military officials & experts on #religion & #law.
#law #Trump #Constitution #FreedomOfReligion #NewApostolicReformation #NAR #war
Rather than boosting cohesion through a more universal spiritual uplift, they say, the new approach violates the #Constitution & undermines the bonds of mutual #respect between #troops that are essential, especially in #wartime.
Every month at the #Pentagon, #Hegseth hosts #evangelical worship services that #legal experts say are unprecedented.
#law #Trump #Republicans #Constitution #FreedomOfReligion #Christianity #NewApostolicReformation #NAR #military #war #NationalSecurity #geopolitics
His social media profile & public comments routinely espouse *his* understanding of #Christianity, which is one that would dominate American life & cast those who disagree with him as God’s enemies. #Hegseth has brought clergy from his small Christian denomination to preach at the #Pentagon, including a prominent pastor who says #women shouldn’t have the right to #vote.
#law #Trump #Constitution #FreedomOfReligion #Evangelism #NewApostolicReformation #NAR #military #war #NationalSecurity
And in recent weeks, the #war with
#Muslim-majority #Iran has only made Hegseth’s approach more stark.
On Wednesday at the #Pentagon, #Hegseth prayed for #US #troops to inflict “overwhelming violence of action against those who deserve no mercy…We ask these things with bold confidence in the mighty & powerful name of Jesus Christ.” Later that day, his department announced #military #chaplains would no longer wear their rank on their uniform & instead would wear #religious insignia.
The Pentagon’s shift from previous historical norms is dangerous, according to multiple former high-ranking #military officials, heads of #chaplain corps, some #veterans groups, current #Pentagon staff & current officers, some of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity to avoid retribution from the #Trump admin.
#law #Hegseth #Republicans #Constitution #FreedomOfReligion #Christianity #Evangelism #NewApostolicReformation #NAR #war #NationalSecurity #geopolitics
Ret Army Maj Gen Randy Manner, who was second-in-command at the #NationalGuard 2011–2012, has worked in recent years to train hundreds of #interfaith #military #chaplains. Manner said he has talked with “dozens & dozens” of active-duty chaplains in recent weeks who say those who don’t identify with #Hegseth “are being marginalized.”
#law #Trump #Constitution #FreedomOfReligion #Christianity #Evangelism #NewApostolicReformation #war #NationalSecurity
They feel they can’t voice their concerns to their superiors, & feel their work as the primary advocate for #troops’ spiritual, mental & moral #health is being threatened.
“I’ve had people tell me they’re not included in staff meetings,” Manner said.
A snr #Army civilian who has worked in the #Pentagon for decades said people who work there are afraid to talk to one another or their superiors about concerns over #Hegseth’s actions.
The #Army civilian, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they fear of being punished at work or fired, said limits that used to exist around #proselytizing have evaporated under #Hegseth. The situation, the person said, is “terrifying.”
If #troops are trained to believe that “God is on our side,” the person said, “what precludes us from doing anything we want to win? The strength of our #military is our people, & their sense of belonging to their unit & their service.”
#Hegseth also scrapped the #Army’s Spiritual Fitness guide because, he said, it was more focused on self-care than “truth.” He wiped out dozens of #military codes for faith groups he deemed overkill.
#Pentagon press sec Kingsley Wilson said their office is “proud to host these services” & will continue to do so.
“Prayer services at the Pentagon are 100% voluntary & are not mandated whatsoever. It is not against the #law to worship Christ voluntarily anywhere in the United States,” Wilson said.
“The Secretary’s prayer services undoubtedly improve morale for those who choose to attend & are constitutionally protected. No special treatment or punishment is given as a result of one’s choice to attend these prayer services.” [sure, Jan.]
#law #Trump #Hegseth #Republicans #Constitution #FreedomOfReligion #Christianity #Evangelism #NewApostolicReformation #NAR #military #war #NationalSecurity #geopolitics
…former & current military officers said, the #military has historically adopted an unspoken rule: no #religion & no #politics.
“The point was, it didn’t matter, & it shouldn’t have mattered, who you worship, or whether you worship at all. What mattered was doing the job & being mindful that you represent all Americans, no matter what they believe,” said a person who was in the leadership team of a recent chairman of the #JointChiefs.
“I don’t approve of cramming your #religious faith down people’s throats, & when the top of the chain couches these operations in this hyper-#Christian tone, it flies in the face of the #FreedomOfReligion that the #Constitution enshrines & that our men & women in uniform sign up to defend.”
#law #Trump #Hegseth #Republicans #Constitution #Evangelism #NewApostolicReformation #NAR #military #war #NationalSecurity #geopolitics #USpol
Experts say in the 1990s, 20 years after the draft ended, the #military shifted to pull disproportionately from #conservative-leaning areas of the country. Then the terrorist attacks of Sept 11, 2001, pushed ideas of #religious #war into the fore. The Air Force Academy in the 1990s & early 2000s faced investigations & #litigation over allegations that #religious #intolerance & #proselytizing were rampant.
#law #Trump #Hegseth #Constitution #FreedomOfReligion #Evangelism #NationalSecurity #USpol
An investigative panel in 2005 said some academy officials used their positions to promote *their* understanding of #Christianity & didn’t accommodate the religious needs of non-Christians.
President George W. Bush & Donald Rumsfeld, in the years after 9/11, spoke often about de-emphasizing any #religious differences between #US #troops & their enemies.
#law #Trump #Hegseth #Republicans #Constitution #FreedomOfReligion #Evangelism #military #war #NationalSecurity #geopolitics #USpol
Rumsfeld in 2001 invited some local #Muslim leaders to the #Pentagon to gauge their feelings about how the admin was communicating, said a chaplain who was at the meeting.
Around that time, the Navy Chaplain Corps changed its motto from “Cooperation Without Compromise” to “Called to Serve All.” The change aimed to emphasize that #chaplains served everyone in their command, no matter the faith.
#law #Trump #Hegseth #Constitution #FreedomOfReligion #Evangelism #military #war #NationalSecurity
"...the military shifted to pull from..."
Implies pursuit of nefarious intentions.
Wherever the most people are enlisting, that's where the military beefs up recruiting.
I knew many recruiters. All they cared about was making their numbers, and they'd use any lever they perceived as being useful to manipulate and coerce a potential recruit into signing.
And lagging education along with religion was and is one of their most effective levers for manipulation.
"Them's bad people and God needs you to do his work..." as a kid sits gazing at action posters of the coolest fighter jets and powerful tanks.... the stars of every video game ever played...
And where do you find blindly religious families that can't afford college?
Red States.
@Twotired @MasterMischief @Nonilex I know, I know. I've had this at work in the past.
Me, answering some religious nonsense passed my way. "I see you are wearing mixed fabric clothing. I shall have to stoned to death!"
Then: Ah, we don't follow the old testament these days
Me: Oh, I was unaware. When did Jesus say to stop following it? I'm sure he actually said otherwise!
Then: Oh, is that the time, we must be off!
Or similar.
@NormanDunbar @Twotired @Nonilex Yeah, I love the 'those rules were for a different time'.
Oh, so like all the rules were for a different time?
'No! Not like that!'
@Nonilex "The Secretary's services ... are constitutionally protected."
Absolute horseshit.
Such services are expressly PROHIBITED in the very first ten words of the First Amendment to the Constitution (the Establishment Clause). The placement of those words at the very beginning of the Bill of Rights is no clerical accident.
Nonilex
Sunny
🔥Cassandra🔥
MasterMischief
NormanDunbar
Twotired
dv_on_mastodon
Toast, Anonymous Fedi Fungus