Secretary of War Pete Hegseth touted his efforts to inject Christianity into military leadership at the Pentagon while speaking in Nashville on Feb. 19, touting the Trump Administration’s stated embrace of Christian moral values as foundational to the American right, and inherent to a free society.
Hegseth headlined the National Religious Broadcasters convention at the Gaylord Opryland Resort in Nashville on Feb. 19.
Pledges of allegiance to the U.S. flag and to the Christian flag were immediately followed by the National Anthem, accompanied by the 101st Airborne Division band. An opening prayer sought blessing from God to “help us overcome Marxism, Socialism and Communism.”
Attendees stood and waved miniature American flags to welcome Hegseth to the stage, which was set with a backdrop screen depicting the U.S. Constitution and the founding fathers.
“U-S-A! U-S-A!” the crowd chanted.
“I bring greetings from a fighter for the people of faith, President Donald J. Trump,” Hegseth said, prompting a big cheer as he called the president “a fierce defender of Christians and faith.”
Hegseth highlighted his monthly Christian prayer services held at the Pentagon, saying “we’ve made the chaplain corps great again.”
Hegseth recently invited Christian nationalist pastor Doug Wilson to lead a worship service at the Pentagon, where Wilson prayed for “a black swan revival” or great awakening of Christianity across the country.
Hegseth joined a denomination led by Idaho pastor Doug Wilson through a Nashville area church. Hegseth spent years in Middle Tennessee before joining the Trump administration to lead the Pentagon. His family owns a home in Goodlettsville.
“We train our troops, we no longer trans our troops,” Hegseth said, to a standing ovation from the crowd. “Gone is godless and divisive DEI. Gone is gender bending and divisive quotas…. We are not in woke we trust, we are in God we trust.”
Tracing the roots of foundational American values through the Western heritage from Jerusalem to Athens, through Rome to the New World, Hegseth called faith and freedom “foundational to a strong citizenry, a strong nation and a strong military.”
“The Christian belief that every person is created in the image of God established a new vision of humanity,” Hegseth said. “From this core principle come liberty and individual rights.”
“The influence of Christianity on our nation’s founding was not merely philosophical it was institutional,” he added.
Denouncing the “performative political theater” of the left, Hegseth declared that values and principles of limited government, individual liberty and personal responsibility embraced by the American right are “God-breathed.”
“The virtues [Christianity] extols are not just for the sanctuary but for the public square,” Hegseth said. “Our founders understood this well.”
Hegseth pointed to Republican policy issues like restricting abortions, defending national borders to fight drug trafficking, and “standing guard over our children” to prevent them from learning about “perverse sexual practices,” calling those priorities “not political,” but “biblical.”
Kansas City residents Chris and Starr Meikel, who traveled to Nashville for NRB, said they’ve followed Hegseth’s ascent as the nation’s top military official while maintaining a public commitment to conservative Christian ideals.
“It doesn’t matter what arena he’s in, he speaks the truth,” Chris Meikel, who hosts a talk show with the faith-based Bott Radio Network, said.
Starr Meikel echoed her husband, saying Hegseth, Vice President J.D. Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are models for “who we want to see leading our nation” due to their faith commitments.
For Jeff Stewart, Hegseth’s appearance was of deep personal significance. Stewart was an U.S. Army infantryman for six years, during which he became a Christian.
“I’m glad to see somebody that’s going back to what it means to be a soldier,” Stewart said about Hegseth’s leadership at the Pentagon. “We’re here to win.”
The NRB is a member organization for conservative, faith-based media organizations, and it lobbies on behalf of those partners to protect their ability to promote conservative Christian values across the airwaves.