At Pentagon Christian service, Hegseth prays for violence ‘against those who deserve no mercy’
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth led a monthly Christian worship service at the Pentagon following the start of the Iran war. Hegseth prayed for military success, asking that "every round find its mark against the enemies of righteousness and our great nation." The prayer included a request for "overwhelming violence of action against those who deserve no mercy." Hegseth frequently uses evangelical rhetoric, framing the nation's conflicts as a Christian effort to vanquish foes. The Secretary's use of Christian rhetoric during expanding global conflicts has drawn renewed scrutiny.
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Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth hosted his monthly Christian worship service at the Pentagon on March 25, 2026, amid the ongoing Iran war.1
The event, livestreamed, gathered civilian employees and military personnel, with Hegseth emphasizing its timeliness given U.S. troop deployments.1
Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins, a Southern Baptist pastor, preached on overcoming fear.1
Hegseth prayed for troops to have "every round find its mark against the enemies of righteousness" and "overwhelming violence of action against those who deserve no mercy."1
He recited a prayer originally given to troops capturing Venezuela's Nicolás Maduro and quoted Psalms: "I pursued my enemies and overtook them... till they were consumed."1
Hegseth invoked his evangelical faith, praying in Jesus' name and depicting America as a Christian nation battling foes.1
Hegseth's rhetoric has drawn renewed attention during global conflicts, including his past defense of the Crusades.1
Historian Ronit Stahl noted a shift toward specific Protestant Christianity from the Defense Secretary, raising questions about religious establishment in a pluralistic military.1
Defenders cite historical precedents like FDR's Bible distributions and George Washington's chaplain corps.1
Americans United for Separation of Church and State filed a lawsuit on Monday seeking Pentagon records on the services' costs, guests, and complaints.1
The group accuses Hegseth of imposing religion on federal workers using taxpayer resources, even if voluntary.1
A similar suit targets Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer's prayer gatherings.1
Hegseth announced reforms to "make the chaplain corps great again," shifting focus from mental health therapy to God-centered ministry.1
Chaplains will remove rank insignia, displaying religious symbols instead to ease troop access.1
The military reduced recognized faith codes from over 200 to 31, affecting diverse identifications like Wiccans and atheists.1
Nearly 70% of troops identify as Christian, per a 2019 report.1
Hegseth, of the Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches (CREC), hosts evangelical preachers like Doug Wilson.1
His faith deepened in 2018; he attends a CREC church in Tennessee and supports a new D.C. CREC congregation.1
Hegseth described the services as personally vital, dismissing critics as "the left-wing shrieks."1
Evaluate Catholic teachings on war versus evangelical rhetoric in U.S. defense
Catholic doctrine on war is rooted in a presumption against war as an intrinsic evil that must be avoided through prayer, diplomacy, and non-violent means whenever possible. The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) emphasizes that "the evils and injustices that accompany all war" demand efforts to free humanity from its "ancient bondage," while affirming the right to lawful self-defense only as a last resort when peace efforts fail and no competent international authority exists. Non-violent resistance, when feasible, exemplifies evangelical charity by witnessing to the risks of violence without infringing on others' rights.
This framework draws from the just war tradition, which distinguishes jus ad bellum (right to war: just cause, right intention, legitimate authority, last resort, proportionality, reasonable chance of success) and jus in bello (right conduct in war: discrimination, proportionality). Scholarly analysis confirms continuity from Aquinas to contemporary popes, rejecting claims of "discontinuity" like a shift from "presumption against injustice" to "presumption against war." Instead, modern Magisterium (e.g., Pius XII, John XXIII, Paul VI) intensifies scrutiny amid total war's horrors, viewing war's condition as sinful (malum culpae and poenae) yet permitting defensive force under rigorous criteria.
Recent papal teaching reinforces this: Pope Francis calls war "an aimless voyage, a defeat without victors, an inexcusable folly," urging a "no" to the war mindset, weaponry, and rearming, as it capitulates to evil and devastates innocents—especially children. He describes ongoing conflicts as a "third world war fought piecemeal," demanding multilateral diplomacy, hope, and penance for peace over cynical pessimism.
Evangelical rhetoric, particularly within U.S. military circles, frames defense through spiritual warfare, drawing from Ephesians 6:12 ("we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against... spiritual forces of evil"). This portrays temporal conflicts (e.g., Iraq, Afghanistan) as supernatural battles where enemies and even unsaved comrades ally with demonic forces, necessitating evangelism alongside combat. Groups like the Officers' Christian Fellowship (OCF), with 15,000 members at 80% of bases, promote soldiers as "missionaries" to convert ranks, viewing full mission success as bringing "Jesus as Lord of all" to the military.
This ethos rejects church-state separation, claiming it's not constitutional—a view bolstered by figures like David Barton, whose discredited histories assert America as an overtly Christian nation. Leaders like Brig. Gen. Donald Wurster exemplify this: conflicts are demonic plagues, with "unsaved" in "alliance with evil," demanding conversion over mere unit cohesion. Sociologically, "evangelical" blends personal conversion, biblical centrality, and public witness in "voluntary" (non-ethnic) forms, extending to military proselytism via T-shirts, prayers, or media.
Catholic teaching and evangelical rhetoric diverge sharply: the former offers a legal-moral restraint on war—prioritizing peace, proportionality, and discrimination—while the latter risks eschatological absolutism, conflating physical defense with cosmic battle, potentially eroding just war limits. Where CCC mandates avoiding war's "evils and injustices" via reason and charity, evangelical views may justify interventions as divine mandates, viewing non-believers (even allies) suspiciously and promoting evangelism that invites constitutional abuses, as documented by critics like the Military Religious Freedom Foundation.
From a Catholic lens, evangelical zeal aligns with witness and conversion but misapplies when militarized: true "evangelical Catholicism" integrates personal renewal with ecclesial sacramentality, not sectarian proselytism or subcultural isolation. Portier's "evangelical Catholics" (e.g., charismatics, Dorothy Day) emphasize changed lives amid pluralism, yet warn against undervaluing the world or marginalizing public roles—issues echoed in military spiritualism. Just war symposia affirm the tradition's relevance against pacifism or "holy war," urging discernment amid modern crises like Yugoslavia or Libya.
Papal urgency heightens the critique: war's "abyss of evil" demands hope-inspired politics, not weaponry or apocalyptic dualism. Evangelicals' "spiritual forces" rhetoric, while biblically rooted, may foster distrust over unity, contrasting CCC's call for citizens/governments to work for peace. Catholics in defense must embody just war fidelity—defensive, restrained—witnessing charity amid profession, without blurring spiritual/temporal realms.
In sum, Catholic doctrine provides a balanced ethic restraining war's horrors; evangelical rhetoric, while fervent, risks over-spiritualizing defense, undermining peace primacy and pluralism. Fidelity requires Catholics to reclaim just war's presumption against war, praying and acting for Isaiah's Prince of Peace.