Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is facing scrutiny for hosting Christian worship services at the Pentagon, including one led by pastor Doug Wilson earlier this year. On The Ezra Klein Show, host Ezra Klein took aim at his theology, labeling him a "Christian nationalist pastor" who operates alongside other disinhibited voices on the New Right.
The criticism of Doug Wilson extends to his specific, regressive policy proposals. Speaking on the same episode, journalist Helen Lewis placed him on the "wilder fringes" of the movement, highlighting his advocacy for household voting and his staunch opposition to women serving in military combat roles.
Lewis also connected Doug Wilson directly to the incoming Defense Secretary's spiritual network, calling him "Pete Hegseth's, um, congregation founder" before offering a sharp historical comparison. Lewis observed that Wilson "basically sort of wants to live in Salem circa sixteen fifty, as far as I can see."
As Pete Hegseth prepares to lead the military, expect Doug Wilson's fundamentalist theology to face intense, ongoing scrutiny from both secular critics and mainstream Christians alike.