Religious Liberty Concerns With Pete Hegseth as Secretary of Defense

The Trump-Vance administration is nominating Pete Hegseth, a Fox News host and right-wing pundit, to serve as the Secretary of Defense. If confirmed, Hegseth would be the least experienced Secretary of Defense in history and would present a host of problems to our military and government. Interfaith Alliance is deeply concerned about the threat his appointment poses to religious freedom and urges senators to vote against him.

Our religious liberty concerns are rooted in Hegseth’s long and deep ties to religious extremism. In recent days, the media has reported that he has tattoos of the Jerusalem Cross and the Latin words “Deus vult,” or “God wills it”, both of which are symbols from the Christian Crusades in the Middle Ages. Deus vult in particular has come to be associated with white supremacist activity; when he was serving in the military, one of his fellow service members reported him as a potential “insider threat”, and he was barred from working at President Biden’s inauguration.

Hegseth claims that raising questions about his tattoos amounts to “anti-Christian bigotry.” But there’s nothing inherently anti-Christian about opposing Christian nationalism and white supremacy. Christians themselves are leading the charge against Christian nationalism through the Christians Against Christian Nationalism campaign. Speaking out against religious extremism is not anti-religious; it’s something that many mainstream religious leaders embrace as part of their calling.

Hegseth is also unqualified from a religious liberty perspective because of his denigration of Muslims and other religious minorities. The Washington Post reported that Hegseth wrote in his book, American Crusade, that Muslim immigrants and refugees threatened the “traditional Christian fabric" of the United States. “’Our present moment is much like the 11th Century. We don’t want to fight, but, like our fellow Christians one thousand years ago, we must. Arm yourself — metaphorically, intellectually, physically. Our fight is not with guns. Yet.”

These issues cut to the core of why Interfaith Alliance opposes his nomination. Hegseth has indicated that if appointed, he would use his powers to attack “woke” diversity initiatives within the military, especially towards transgender service members and religious minorities. He’s suggested that women shouldn’t serve in certain combat roles and that he would purge military officials who support DEI. Major news outlets are also been reporting that police investigated Hegseth for sexual assault in 2017. Hegseth entered into a financial settlement with the victim, but to this day, Hegseth denies all charges.

If confirmed, Pete Hegseth would present a profound threat to religious liberty. Interfaith Alliance urges senators to understand the gravity of this nomination and vote against approving him to serve as our next Secretary of Defense.