The United States defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, recently shared a video in which several pastors say women should no longer be allowed to vote. The high-level ruler made sure to repost the video shamelessly, in which a Christian nationalist said, “I would like to see this nation being a Christian nation.”
Hegseth reposted the nearly seven-minute report with the caption: “All of Christ for All of Life.”
Doug Wilson, a Christian nationalist who co-founded the Idaho-based Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches (CREC), has been promoting misogynistic ideas and gender roles, as he claims that’s what the Bible tells him to do. “I would like to see this nation being a Christian nation, and I would like this world to be a Christian world,” Wilson said.
Hegseth and his family were in attendance at the Wilson church’s inaugural service in Washington in July, according to CNN.
Another pastor, who was interviewed by CNN for its segment, Toby Sumpter, said, “In my ideal society, we would vote as households. I would ordinarily be the one to cast the vote, but I would cast the vote having discussed it with my household.” Meaning if the wife objects, the husband has the final say, removing the right of women to vote. No mention was made of single women and what the horrific policy would mean for them.
“Women are the kind of people that people come out of,” Wilson said in the interview. “No, it doesn’t take any talent to simply reproduce. Biologically, the wife and mother, who is the chief executive of the home, is entrusted with three or four or five eternal souls.”
According to a report from the Guardian, a statement from Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell on Saturday said Hegseth is a proud member of a church affiliated with the CREC. “The secretary very much appreciates many of Mr. Wilson’s writings and teachings.”
According to a report by Raw Story, Wilson has gone so far as to say he wants to outlaw homosexuality and remove bodily autonomy from women. He has justified slavery as a biblical institution, and says in doing so, his ultimate goal is to bring about the second coming of Christ, and impose a full-on theocracy in the U.S.
The Trump administration has also ramped up efforts to promote Christian nationalism, which is a push toward policies that will harm women, minorities, and others who do not follow a Christian religion. The push follows Donald Trump’s renewed alliance with the Christian right in his second presidential term, whose moves have included an executive order creating a federal task force to investigate what he calls “anti-Christian bias” in government agencies.
The separation of church and state should guarantee everyone the freedom to choose their religion, or lack thereof; however, it surely seems the lines are blurring. If someone will justify slavery because their holy book tells them to, there are no lines they won’t cross.
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