WASHINGTON, D.C. – In a press briefing with the President and other top administration officials on Monday, the President said God is on the side of the United States in their war with Iran. Religious scholars said they’ve noticed an increase in religious rhetoric coming from our top officials.
In that same briefing, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth likened the rescue of a us airman in Iran who was shot down to the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
“You see shot down on a Friday- Good Friday- hidden in a cave, a crevasse, and rescued on Sunday, flown out of Iran as the sun was rising on Easter Sunday,” said the Secretary. “A pilot reborn all home and accounted for a nation rejoicing.”
Its the latest example of top officials using Christian theology when making statements about the war with Iran. Secretary Hegseth, who is someone that describes themselves as a Christian, has called for “overwhelming violence of action against those who deserve no mercy” during a monthly Christian service at the Pentagon. In late March, the Secretary also called on the American people to pray for the safety of their troops and victory in battle: “Every day, on bended knee, with your family, in your schools, in your churches, in the name of Jesus Christ.”
“Hegseth has infused much more religious language than anyone I can recall in my lifetime more than other politician into statements and activities,” said Dr. Matthew D. Taylor, visiting scholar with Georgetown University’s Center on Faith and Justice.
According to a 2019 study by the Congressional Research Service, about 70 percent of US service members identify as Christian. Dr. Taylor said there’s a blurriness when it comes to the Administration’s use of religious rhetoric with the war.
“In the US there’s a formal separation between the religion and the state so there cannot be an official religion of the United States under the First Amendment,” said Dr. Taylor. “But there is this allowance for free expression of religion which is allowed in the First Amendment and allowance and we’ve always had political figures- especially politicians- use their identities and religious language as part of their self-presentation, as part of their understanding of themselves but there’s been this understanding that since there’s not an official religion, there needs to be room for all religious expressions in public square. I think what we’re seeing right now is a degradation of our norms.”
He adds that the US military has tried to be a diverse body that represents the entire United States. “I think it’s very significant we see this ramping up of Christian rhetoric- even rhetoric of civilizational conflict, of good versus evil- some of the recruitment videos that have been put out by the Department of Defense have included things like Pete Hegseth praying the Lord’s Prayer with military service members- overlaying that audio of images of the US military bombing and raiding places… that kind of conflation of the American identity, the American military with the cause of God- Kingdom of God- really does threaten to ramp up these conflicts.”
We asked the Pentagon if the Secretary views the war with Iran in religious terms and how these Christian comments impact all service members who might not all share the same faith? The Pentagon Press Secretary Kingsley Wilson gave us this response:
“Secretary Hegseth, along with millions of Americans, is a proud Christian. The Christian faith is woven deeply into the fabric of our nation and shared by America’s wartime leaders like President George Washington, who prayed for his troops at Valley Forge, and President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who gifted Bibles to America soldiers during WW2 and encouraged them to read it. Encouraging the American people to pray for our troops is not controversial.”
A current US service member shared with us their thoughts on the Administration’s religious rhetoric: “As a service member, I took an oath to support and defend the Constitution, not a religion, a political movement, or any one interpretation of faith. Hearing rhetoric that frames violence or policy through a Christian nationalist lens, especially when it’s used to justify force or military action, is deeply concerning. Our military must remain grounded in lawful orders, pluralism, and the protection of all Americans; it should not be shaped by sectarian ideology.”
