Christian Nationalists love to say that the United States was founded as a Christian nation. That is simply not true.

Read the Declaration of Independence. Read the U.S. Constitution.

You will not find the word, “Christian.” You will not find the name “Jesus.”

The documents acknowledge a creator, but they do not in any way call for a national religion. In fact, read the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. It makes it illegal for the United States to make any laws respecting the establishment of religion. “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”

That is the First Amendment. Our country’s founders were so adamant about that issue, they made it the First Amendment.

Americans, under our Constitution, are free to practice any religion they choose. They are free to practice no religion whatsoever.

In my March 27, 2026 blog post, Meanwhile, Trump continues to lower the bar, I made the statement, “The United States of America is not a theocracy… yet.”

Americans have the First Amendment, but there are forces working in the background and in the not so “back” background who are determined to make the United States a Christian nation. Stay tuned. Even when President Trump is no more, the Christian Nationalists who prop him up will still be among us.

One example of how Christian Nationalists are not-so-silently imposing their extreme beliefs through their positions in government is Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. He holds a monthly Christian service at the Pentagon. Attendance is technically not mandatory, but we all know how such an event at one’s place of employment can be in actuality.

We have an all-volunteer military since the draft was ended on January 27, 1973. Our military personnel come from various religious backgrounds. In other words, they are not all Christians, and besides, all Christians are not in agreement on details of the faith. The number of Christian denominations proves that.

At the Pentagon service on March 25, 2026, Hegseth prayed for “righteous targets for violence” and “overwhelming violence against those who deserve no mercy.”

“Righteous targets for violence” and “overwhelming violence against those who deserve no mercy.” Let those words sink in. As a member of a congregation affiliated with the Presbyterian Church USA, I find that prayer offensive.

As I interpret it, a “righteous target” for our Department of Defense would be a target acceptable to God. The insinuation of Hegseth’s prayer is that God is on our side. Even if Hegseth believes that in his heart, it runs counter to United States tradition and principles. We do not see our wars as “holy wars,” but that is the impression Hegseth’s prayer gives.

(In contrast, it is my understanding that Iran sees its war against Israel and the United States as a holy war. In Iran today, there is no separation of church and state.)

It is not in the tradition or history of the U.S. for the Secretary of Defense to use words like “righteous target” or pray for “overwhelming violence against those who deserve no mercy.” If that is the mindset of our Secretary of Defense, he has a frightening interpretation of the foundation of our nation and the religious position of the U.S. military. The U.S. military has never had a religious position or religious mission.

“Overwhelming violence against those who deserve no mercy” goes along with Hegseth’s earlier statement that we will “give no quarter.” “Give no quarter” translates to “take no prisoners alive.” In addition to being against international law, that is not the way the United States operates. If it is, that is not what we’ve been told.

Does Hegseth want the Iranians to “give no quarter” if they capture members of our military? I doubt it. But what message does it send for our Secretary of Defense to make such statements?

The Washington Post reported, “Later that day, his department announced military chaplains would no longer wear their rank on their uniform and instead would wear religious insignia.”

On Sunday, March 29, The Washington Post reported, “Retired Army Maj. Gen. Randy Manner, who was second-in-command of the National Guard from 2011 to 2012, has worked in recent years to train hundreds of interfaith military chaplains. Manner said he has talked with ‘dozens and dozens’ of active-duty chaplains in recent weeks who say those who don’t identify with Hegseth ‘are being marginalized.’ They feel they can’t voice their concerns to their own superiors, he said, and feel their work as the primary advocate for troops’ spiritual, mental and moral health is being threatened.”

It has been reported that Hegseth has cut the number of faith codes within the military from 200 to 31 to remove “political correctness and secular humanism” from the Chaplain Corps.

Hegseth has brought his pastor into presentations at the Pentagon. This is a narrow-minded man who says women should not have the right to vote. That tells me all I need to know about Hegseth’s very small Christian denomination and its views about more the half the world’s population.

The Washington Post reported that the traditional norms that kept religious beliefs and individual religious affiliations of the top brass at the Pentagon out of their official dealings, “are being upended by the proselytizing Christian campaign of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, say multiple former high-ranking military officials and experts on religion and law. Rather than boosting cohesion through a more universal spiritual uplift, they say, the new approach violates the Constitution and undermines the bonds of mutual respect between troops that are essential, especially in wartime.”

Religion and government are not a match made in heaven. Everyone in government – and that includes the military — brings their beliefs with them, but they are never to force their religious beliefs on another person, co-workers, or the entire nation through their position of power or influence.

It appears that Secretary Hegseth’s possible affinity for alcohol, which was a topic of concern emphasized during his Congressional confirmation hearings, is turning out to be the least of our concerns about him.

Watch for Part 2 of this blog topic tomorrow, when I will look into what Jesus had to say about the government.

Janet

The government should be afraid of its citizens, not the other way around.