Hegseth Holds Pentagon Worship Services, Tells Troops Iran War Is "God's Divine Plan"

Since May 2025, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has been hosting monthly evangelical worship services at the Pentagon — an unprecedented practice for a Defense Secretary. During services, he prayed for "overwhelming violence" against "those who deserve no mercy" and cast the Iran conflict as a holy war against "wicked souls" deserving "eternal damnation."

Hegseth belongs to the Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches, a conservative network co-founded by self-described Christian nationalist Doug Wilson. Wilson and other CREC pastors have preached at Hegseth's Pentagon services at least three times.

The religious coercion extends to the chain of command:

• Military commanders told troops the Iran war was "God's divine plan"
• One officer reported Hegseth urged them to tell soldiers: "President Trump has been anointed by Jesus to light the signal fire in Iran to cause Armageddon"
• The Military Religious Freedom Foundation received over 200 calls from active-duty personnel across 50 installations reporting concerns about religious coercion
• Chaplains not aligned with Hegseth's evangelical approach were being "marginalized" and excluded from staff meetings

Hegseth also reduced military faith codes from 200 to 31, claiming this addressed "political correctness and secular humanism" in the Chaplain Corps — effectively narrowing religious representation and marginalizing non-Christian and non-evangelical service members.

One military source: "I don't approve of cramming your religious faith down people's throats." Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America warned that service members "being weaponized is the opposite of what the original intention is."

The First Amendment's Establishment Clause prohibits the government from establishing or favoring a religion. The Defense Secretary framing a war of choice as divine prophecy — telling troops their commander-in-chief was "anointed by Jesus to cause Armageddon" — is not merely unconstitutional. It is the weaponization of faith to justify killing, the exact inversion of what Jesus taught.