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Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks during a news conference at the Pentagon on June 22, 2025.
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
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Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has reposted a video featuring a controversial pastor with views on women’s voting rights.
Doug Wilson, a senior pastor at Christ Church in Idaho, expressed in a CNN interview that women’s roles are primarily domestic and linked to family responsibilities. He stated, “Women are the kind of people that people come out of.”
Wilson further elaborated, saying, “The wife and mother, who is the chief executive of the home, is entrusted with three or four or five eternal souls.”
During the interview, Wilson defended earlier statements about the relationships between slaves and masters and advocated for the recriminalization of sodomy, which was overturned by the Supreme Court in 2003.
Hegseth’s endorsement of the interview on the social platform X included the message, “All of Christ for All of Life.”
According to Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell, Hegseth is affiliated with a church under the Congregation of Reformed Evangelical Churches, founded by Wilson. “The Secretary very much appreciates many of Mr. Wilson’s writings and teachings,” Parnell stated.
In the CNN segment, members of Wilson’s church shared their views on family roles, with one woman noting her husband leads their household. Another pastor advocated for family voting, where the husband would cast the ballot.
Andrew Whitehead, a sociology professor and expert on Christian nationalism, commented on the broader implications of these beliefs being publicized by a significant government figure. “It’s not just they have these personal Christian beliefs about the role of women in the family. It’s that they want to enforce those for everybody,” Whitehead said.
Christ Church did not provide immediate comments when contacted by NPR. The church, which is expanding its network, has recently established a branch in Washington, D.C., where Hegseth and his family have reportedly attended services.
Whitehead highlighted the potential impact of Hegseth’s actions, noting, “It really does matter if the Secretary of Defense is retweeting a video with very particular views about whether women should be able to vote or serve in combat roles or if slavery really isn’t all that bad. That’s not just a person’s view. It’s a person in a pretty broad position of power.”
