Washington (AP) According to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, he is honored to be a member of the archconservative network of Christian churches known as the Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches.
Hegseth recently made waves after he posted a CNN video on CREC on social media, which featured its pastors advocating against women’s voting rights.
The network’s main location, Christ Church in Moscow, Idaho, is led by Pastor Doug Wilson, a co-founder of CREC. Wilson is a cheerful, media-friendly man who has no problem igniting controversy with his church’s hard-line theology, patriarchy, and Christian nationalism.
On Monday, Wilson expressed his gratitude to Hegseth for sharing the footage with The Associated Press. He pointed out that Hegseth’s piece was titled “All of Christ for All of Life,” which is the motto of the Christ Church.
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At a certain level, he was essentially reposting it and saying, “Amen,” Wilson said.
Hegseth, one of the most contentious Cabinet members appointed by President Donald Trump, is a member of the CREC-affiliated church Pilgrim Hill Reformed Fellowship, located in a Nashville suburb. Hegseth hosted a ceremony in the Pentagon, where his pastor, Brooks Potteiger, offered prayers.
Hegseth just attended the first Sunday service at Christ Church DC, a new CREC branch in the nation’s capital.
Hegseth’s CREC affiliation was verified by Pentagon top spokesman Sean Parnell, who also told the AP that Hegseth greatly values many of Mr. Wilson’s works and ideas.
Additional information regarding the church network is as follows:
What does Wilson s church say about women?
Complementarianism, the patriarchal belief that men and women have distinct duties assigned by God, is practiced by Wilson’s congregation and the larger denomination. In CREC churches, married women are expected to submit to their husbands and are not allowed to take positions of leadership.
Wilson told the AP that he thought it was a bad idea to give women the right to vote under the 19th Amendment. He did, however, add that his daughters and wife cast ballots.
He would rather have the US adopt the practice of his church, which permits heads of households to cast ballots in church elections. In his faith, women who are not married are eligible to vote.
Wilson stated that because we are patriarchal and not egalitarian, the head of the household, the father and husband, typically casts the vote. He went on to say that he does not consider eliminating the 19th Amendment to be a top priority.
Particularly following accusations of sexual assault against him for which no charges were brought, Hegseth’s opinions on women have come under scrutiny. Hegseth had raised concerns about women in combat roles in the military before to being appointed head of the Defense Department.
Wilson, a veteran of the Navy who served on submarines, also raises concerns about women in some military positions.
Wilson remarked, “I believe we should find out who suggested that we put women on those submarines and have that man committed.” It’s similar to putting fifty cats in a playpen and then scattering catnip in the center of it. Whatever occurs, it will be unsightly. And you haven’t been around the block very often if you believe it will help women’s rights and force sailors to stop treating women like objects.
What is the Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches?
Established in 1998, CREC is a global network of over 130 churches in the US and other countries.
With its roots in the Protestant reformer John Calvin’s legacy from the 16th century, CREC adheres to a stringent style of Reformed theology that places a strong focus on an all-powerful God who rules over society as a whole.
According to Julie Ingersoll, a professor of religion at the University of North Florida, who wrote on Christian Reconstructionism in her 2015 book Building God’s Kingdom, Wilson and CREC are also heavily influenced by this Reformed movement from the 20th century.
She observes that the Wilson phrase Hegseth reposted on social media reflects that theology.
According to Ingersoll, he is alluding to the notion that it is the responsibility of Christians to rule over the entire world when he says, “All of life.”
Since the 1970s, Wilson’s mission and impact have expanded to encompass New Saint Andrew’s College in Moscow, Idaho, as well as the Association of Christian Classical Schools.
Canon Press, the publisher of publications like It’s Good to Be a Man: A Handbook for Godly Masculinity and The Case for Christian Nationalism, is one example of the ministry’s strong media presence.
What is the connection to Christian nationalism?
Wilson aspires for the US to be a Christian country. Being referred to as a Christian nationalist does not bother him.
“That’s a better label than what I usually get called, so I’m more than happy to work with it,” Wilson added.
“I can’t work with them unless I deny them if they call me a white nationalist, theo-fascist, racist bigot, or misogynist thug,” he stated. In addition to being a Christian, I also love my country and am a patriot. How can I put those two items together? How do they collaborate?
American and Christian identity, values, and symbols are combined in U.S. Christian nationalism, which usually aims to give Christian individuals and ideas preference. Historians disagree with Wilson’s claim that early America was Christian.
Wilson said in 2022 that if we are successful, this will be Christian America 2.0.
Christian nationalism in America encompasses overlapping movements. These include a charismatic movement that sees politics as part of a larger spiritual war; a Catholic postliberal movement that envisions a powerful government that upholds traditional morals; and evangelicals who see Trump, a Republican, as a champion, some of whom are influenced by Christian Reconstructionist ideas.
The higher levels of government now have a tighter relationship with CREC. Wilson’s other divisive opinions, such as his minimization of the atrocities of Southern slavery in the United States, have come under closer scrutiny as a result of this. However, it has also given Wilson a larger platform.
Wilson and Hegseth have praised one another in their remarks. Wilson said they have only met in person once, when they talked informally after Wilson preached at Hegseth s home church in Tennessee this year.
According to Wilson, the purpose of CREC’s new church in Washington was to serve churchgoers who moved to the Trump administration to work.
According to Wilson, this is the first time that we have ties to so many members of the national government. But we’re not aiming to meet influential people as part of an ecclesiastical lobbying operation. Our goal is to provide some of these individuals with a chance to have a spiritual encounter with God.
