US War Secretary Pete Hegseth has repeatedly brought up Christianity when trying to rally the troops for the US-Israeli war on Iran . This has raised alarms among soldiers and lawmakers about the secretary’s use of his faith, prompting organised efforts to hold him accountable for his rhetoric and actions.
A recent incident in which he quoted a fake bible verse from the film Pulp Fiction to encourage a holy war in Iran has revived long-held concerns and ridicule among Hegseth's critics that he is not fit for his position.
"The path of the downed aviator is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil man. Blessed is he who, in the name of camaraderie and duty, shepherds the lost through the valley of darkness, for he is truly his brother’s keeper and the finder of lost children," Hegseth said as he led a prayer for service members in April.
"And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who attempt to capture and destroy my brother, and you will know my call sign is Sandy 1 when I lay my vengeance upon thee. Amen," he continued, urging the soldiers to pray with him. What have been some of Hegseth's more noteworthy references? Hegseth has been making biblical references related to combat long before the US war on Iran , something that has caused concern before his tenure as War Secretary.
During his time as a student at Princeton, Hegseth, upon becoming publisher of the university's conservative student publication, The Princeton Tory, said that he would defend Western civilisation against the distractions of diversity.
When he worked as a Fox News host, in 2020, he wrote a book called Crusades, in which he calls for an 'American crusade' against enemies, such as leftists and Islam. The book also rails against Democracy and civil rights.
Throughout his confirmation process as the then-Secretary of Defence (before renaming the department to War), as he faced allegations of violence and sexual misconduct, Hegseth described himself as a warrior. After he was sworn in, he said that he would work to return the warrior ethos.
Critics have also pointed to his tattoos, one of which is a large Christian crusader cross and another of which reads Deus Vult (God wills it, what Hegseth considers the rallying cry for Christian knights).
Since becoming Defence Secretary, he has led regular prayer services and has used his church and pastor to preach to service members. Who is Hegseth's faith leader, and what is his church? Hegseth says he had a religious transformation in 2018, when he and his wife were attending Colts Neck Community Church in New Jersey, where they lived at the time. He said that their strong faith led them to relocate to Tennessee, where they then enrolled their children in a Christian school and became members of the Pilgrim Hill Reformed Fellowship, part of the Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches (CREC). The church preaches conservative ideology and free will.
At a May 2025 Christian prayer service he held at the Pentagon (announced at the time as the beginning of a monthly gathering), he introduced the pastor from his home church in Tennessee, Brooks Potteiger, who read passages from the Bible, repeatedly making connections to present-day military combat. What are the troops saying? Veterans groups have been voicing complaints on behalf of service members who have complained anonymously about Hegseth's use of Christian extremist rhetoric tied to the war in Iran.
Some have said it doesn't reflect their interpretation of the Bible, and others say it violates the constitutionally protected freedom of religion. What has the Pope said? "We will keep pushing, keep advancing, no quarter, no mercy for our enemies," Hegseth said in March in one of his more controversial statements that seemed to have been the catalyst for the Pope to weigh in on the US administration’s military actions in the Middle East.
Pope Leo said that God does not listen to leaders who wage war and who have hands full of blood.
"This is our God: Jesus, king of peace, who rejects war, whom no one can use to justify war," the Pope told worshippers at a Palm Sunday service, following Hegseth's remarks. "He does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war, but rejects them." Could Hegseth be the next one to step down? In April, House Democrats filed articles of impeachment against Hegseth, making serious allegations about his conduct in the US war in Iran and his leadership more broadly. The articles of impeachment, led by Representative Yassamin Ansari of Arizona (herself of Iranian origin), are the following: lacking the legal authority to go to war against Iran; not going through Congress for approval; not having clear objectives and exposing US forces to danger; taking unnecessary risks, thereby putting the US military in the region at risk; and demonstrating a willful disregard for the constitution.
Last week, lawmakers grilled Hegseth on his recent dismissal of blacks and women in the military, suggesting a motive of bias, as well as what some see as inserting Christian nationalism into the military.
It is unlikely that the resolution or hearings will lead to any changes, given the Republican majority in Congress. However, this is one of many signs of growing discontent with Hegseth's performance as War Secretary, a position he consistently links to his faith.