Maddow Blog-Why Pete Hegseth leading a Christian prayer service at the Pentagon is so problematic

[LetMyPeopleVote]

For those concerned about the administration and the emergence of Christian nationalism, the Pentagon chief’s service was a step in an unsettling direction.

Why Pete Hegseth leading a Christian prayer service at the Pentagon is so problematic -

apple.news/A7FaFSEY0RIS...

— (@oc88.bsky.social) 2025-05-22T20:13:21.055Z

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/pete-hegseth-leading-christian-prayer-service-pentagon-problematic-rcna208582

A couple of weeks later, for example, Attorney General Pam Bondi convened a meeting of a task force charged with eradicating “anti-Christian bias” within federal agencies. The Washington Post reported at the time, “Even before the group’s inaugural meeting, critics have assailed its mission as a bald attempt by government to elevate one faith over others and to rewrite recent history under the guise of protecting religious freedoms.”

The critics obviously had a point. After all, the attorney general and her colleagues didn’t say they were focused on perceived “anti-religion bias” within the government; they focused only on perceived “anti-Christian bias” within the government. The Trump’s task force clearly had a faith-specific focus.

Among those joining Bondi for the inaugural meeting of the group was Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who, it turns out, held a related event one month later. The New York Times reported:

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth led a Christian prayer service in the Pentagon’s auditorium on Wednesday morning, during working hours, in which President Trump was praised as a divinely appointed leader. The event, billed as the “Secretary of Defense Christian Prayer & Worship Service,” was standing room only and ran for about 30 minutes, with Brooks Potteiger, the pastor of Mr. Hegseth’s church in Tennessee, as the main speaker.

This was not a one-time gathering: The Times report added that the beleaguered Pentagon chief said that he wants these prayer services to become monthly events......

Imagine being a Jewish service member, for example, hoping to stay on the secretary’s good side, and perhaps even looking for an upcoming promotion, and the pressure that person felt when told about Hegseth’s “invitation.”

As for Potteiger, the pastor of Hegseth’s church in Tennessee, the Times quoted the reverend’s Trump-specific comments at the Pentagon.

In his sermon, the pastor said, “We pray for our leaders who you have sovereignly appointed — for President Trump, thank you for the way that you have used him to bring stability and moral clarity to our land. And we pray that you would continue to protect him, bless him, give him great wisdom. ... We pray that you would surround him with faithful counselors who fear your name and love your precepts.”

For those concerned about the administration and the emergence of Christian nationalism, this was a step in an unsettling direction.

[Ping Tung]

1. Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion

Which part of no law respecting an establishment of religion will the Supremes try to ignore?

[rurallib]

5. the whole thing, on a 6-3 vote because

who's gonna stop them?

[Norrrm]

2. Do other faiths get paid time off during work hours to conduct religious events?

Other belief systems that are not necessarily religious?
The chess club?
The poker club?

[surfered]

3. These are people who are so insecure in their faith

that they must have everyone believe as they do. If other people have different faiths, they begin to question their own belief.

As an aside, there already exists a multi-faith chapel in the Pentagon for use by all faiths, including but not limited to Muslim, Christians, and Jews.

[patphil]

4. As Rachel Maddow points out, Hegseth is a government employee, holding a religious service in a govt. building.

He brings in a minister from his home church, and plans to make it a regular thing.
That's fine if he uses a local church or public meeting place, but the Pentagon is a government building, and it is not OK to hold a religious service there, especially on a regular basis.
That is what the separation of Church and State is all about.
Render to God the thing's that are God's, and render to Cesar the things that are Cesar's.

He knows this, and is doing it as an in-your-face challenge. He knows nobody in the Trump administration is going to challenge this, so he's not going to get any flak for it.
From the words that minister spoke, he doesn't seem to have a good understanding of the teachings of Jesus.
I don't see any way that Trump brings stability and moral clarity to anything. His method of rule is through threats, fear mongering, and chaos.