Last week, Hegseth hosted a Christian prayer service in a Pentagon auditorium on a Wednesday morning.
The line item on the daily agenda read “Secretary of Defense Christian Prayer and Worship Service.”
Attendance for the voluntary event was standing-room only.
The worship service is expected to become a monthly event, The New York Times reported.
The service is part of an “increasing infusion” of overt Christian evangelization in official government events during Donald Trump’s second term, The Times further reported.
The primary speaker was Hegseth’s pastor, Brooks Potteiger, of Pilgrim Hill Reformed Fellowship just outside of Nashville.
Retired Air Force Lt. Col. Rachel VanLandingham, now a law professor, told CNN the printed order of service distributed to attendees signifies state-sponsored religion, a violation of the First Amendment.
VanLandingham, a former Pentagon lawyer who left in April, told CNN the service was “incredibly problematic” and a likely a violation of the Establishment Clause “even if they don’t officially say, ‘This is a Pentagon event.’”
The Pentagon said such a religious service is not uncommon in the building.
Acting press secretary Kingsley Wilson released a statement noting that “many different faiths have regular services in the Pentagon Chapel or elsewhere in the Pentagon.”
Subtle moves toward the center are sending shockwaves, Dave Mills, director of Men’s Alliance, said on Washington Watch Friday.
Finally, the pendulum tops out
“We’ve seen the pendulum swing so far, so absurdly far to the left over the past many years, that now even if it moves back an inch into the correct position, it's very alarming to people,” he told show host Jody Hice.
Some are concerned that the Christian faith will be forced upon them, regardless of the Constitution, Mills said.
“I have people that I've talked to who are atheists. They are legitimately concerned about us as Christians mandating some sort of a national Christian religion. That’s of course, so absurd, so far from anything that's happening in reality, but that's their concern.”
Hegseth led a prayer at the service saying, "King Jesus, we come humbly before you, seeking your face, seeking your grace, in humble obedience to your law and to your word. We come as sinners saved only by that grace, seeking your providence in our lives and in our nation."
He also added, "Lord God, we ask for the wisdom to see what is right and in each and every day, in each and every circumstance, the courage to do what is right in obedience to your will. It is in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, that we pray. And all God’s people say amen," to which some in the audience replied, "Amen."
“This is just simply a man praying for wisdom. If you read what the prayer was, it was praying for stability, for guidance, for protection and blessing. I think everyone is for these types of things, and it's absolutely great. It's encouraging to see our Secretary of Defense doing this. I hope he keeps it up,” Mills said.
Hegseth living out his faith and giving others the chance to do the same – plus the recognition of only gender as assigned at birth – can only serve to increase morale, Mills said.
“This is a huge breath of fresh air. It’s a return to common sense. It's like we've all been given permission to stop playing an absurd game that nobody wanted to play in the first place.”
The national sigh of relief
The military had become a place where rank and file soldiers did not necessarily agree with pro-transgender policies that had been put in place but were scared to speak out against them.
“So many of the soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines were going along simply because, ‘Hey, I don’t want to stand out. I want to do well in my job,’” Mills said.
Now Hegseth’s leadership is delivering peace and confidence.
“As soon as someone at the top reveals how that was absurd, and we’re going away from it, we’re done with it, there’s like a huge collective sigh of relief as a nation and as a military. It’s thank God we are returning to some common sense and morality,” Mills said.
