NOTE: This piece was originally published at our newsletter A Public Witness.
In the first Christian worship service at the Pentagon since the start of the strikes against Iran, Pete Hegseth, who likes to call himself the “Secretary of War,” used prayer and several Bible passages to cast the conflict as a holy war against God’s enemies. He prayed that God would pour out righteous wrath by helping “break the teeth” and kill the “wicked” enemies “who deserve no mercy” and should be “delivered to the eternal damnation prepared for them.” And he did so during the service on Wednesday (March 25) while carrying up to the podium what looked like his Bible that’s stamped on the cover with a Jerusalem Cross and the phrase “Deus Vult,” thus matching the controversial Crusader tattoos on his body.
Hegseth started his remarks by noting that it was even “more fitting” this month than usual to gather for the service because of military personnel in danger in the Middle East. To make his case that God is on the side of the U.S. military and would help them kill Iranians, Hegseth mentioned he was given a prayer used by “the chaplain who oversaw the Maduro raid” in Venezuela in January. Hegseth had already shared at the January worship service that he had prayed through Psalm 144 for that mission.
Noting that it had been prayed to bless that mission, Hegseth said he now wanted to pray it over the Iran war. The selection from the chaplain started with Psalm 18:37-42. The first verse — “I pursued my enemies and overtook them; I did not turn back till they were destroyed” — was previously used in a Pentagon video that overlayed the verse on top of footage of fighter jets soaring, missiles firing, and soldiers shooting guns.
“I thrust them through so that they were not able to rise,” Hegseth kept reading at today’s service. “They fell under my feet, for you equipped me with strength for the battle. You made those who rise against me sink under me. You made my enemies turn their backs to me, and those who hated me, I destroyed. They cried for help, but there was none to save. They cried to the Lord, but he did not answer them. I beat them fine as dust before the wind. I cast them out like the mire of the streets.”
Screengrab as Pete Hegseth speaks during a worship service at the Pentagon on March 25, 2026.
The prayer then used without citations several passages from other psalms, the Book of Proverbs, and elsewhere. It started with Psalm 144:1 and mixed in other verses and phrases to argue that it’s God’s will to show no mercy to the enemy.
“Almighty God, who trains our hands for war and our fingers for battle, you who stirred the nations from the north against Babylon of old, making her land a desolation where none dwell, behold now the wicked who rise against your justice and the peace of the righteous,” Hegseth prayed. “Snap the rod of the oppressor, frustrate the wicked plans, and break the teeth of the ungodly. By the blast of your anger, let the evil perish. Let their bulls go down to slaughter for their day has come, the time of their punishment. Pour out your wrath upon those who plot vain things and blow them away like chaff before the wind.”
“Grant this task force clear and righteous targets for violence. Surround them as a shield, protect the innocent and blameless in their midst. Make their arrows like those of a skilled warrior who returned not empty-handed. Let every round find its mark against the enemies of righteousness and our great nation,” Hegseth continued praying. “Give them wisdom in every decision, endurance for the trial ahead, unbreakable unity, and overwhelming violence of action against those who deserve no mercy. Preserve their lives, sharpen their resolve, and let justice be executed swiftly and without remorse that evil may be driven back and wicked souls delivered to the eternal damnation prepared for them. For the wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are as bold as a lion. We ask these things with bold confidence in the mighty and powerful name of Jesus Christ, King over all kings and amen.”
After finishing the violent prayer, Hegseth again made it clear that he was offering that as a prayer for the Iran war: “May the righteous be as bold as a lion. May we pray such prayer for our men and women in harm’s way right now. To think that such Americans exist on our behalf, on behalf of the American people, and that is certainly our prayer for them.”
Other parts of the service served to bless Hegseth’s call for a holy war. Before he took to the stage, Undersecretary of the Navy Hung Cao called Hegseth “one of God’s mightiest men.” Cao also prayed for God to place “a hedge of protection over our soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines, Air guardians, and Coast Guardsmen who are right now deployed in harm’s way.” He added in his prayer his request that God would make the war plans of President Donald Trump, Hegseth, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff John Caine align with God’s will and succeed. Cao also borrowed phrases from Hebrews 12:1-2, Hebrews 10:24-25, and Romans 1:16 in his prayer.
Later, U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs Doug Collins, a former Southern Baptist pastor, preached. His message mostly centered on rejoicing in God even when things go poorly and trusting in God even during storms. He encouraged those present to lead by seeking to experience a miracle from God during life’s storms.
After his sermon, Collins led those present in saying the Lord’s prayer. Christian musicians Cade Thompson, Lucy Fave, and Jason Kuhn sang several songs, including “Way Maker,” “How Great Thou Art,” “Agnus Dei,” “Jesus Paid It All,” “Nothing But the Blood of Jesus,” and the “Doxology.”
The closing prayer by VA Chaplain Glenn Clarkson cast the U.S. as a divine agent: “May your love enable us as a nation to bear all things, believe all things, hope all things, and endure all things. For when we continue to do this as a nation upon you, O God, we will continue to stand as one nation under you, O God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”
Secret Ambition
This was the third Pentagon service to feature guest Christian musicians. But they initially announced a bigger name would be performing.
On March 13, the Pentagon said in an internal email that Christian musician Michael W. Smith would perform at the monthly worship service on March 17. This marked the first time other than the Christmas service that they had advertised a preacher or musician ahead of time. The day before the service, however, the Pentagon announced it would be pushed to March 18. Then they said the service would be rescheduled again. The Pentagon told me that Smith’s performance had been rescheduled but declined to say when it would occur. A few days later, they announced Collins as the preacher for the rescheduled March service but didn’t include Smith in the invite.
Last month, Smith performed at the National Prayer Breakfast after a rambling, profane speech by President Donald Trump. Smith’s singing of “Agnus Dei” and “Amazing Grace” came after Hegseth declared the U.S. to be “a Christian nation” and made the heretical claim that a soldier “finds eternal life” by dying for the country.
Two weeks later, Smith performed at the opening session of the National Religious Broadcasters convention. That session of the group that brings together conservative evangelical media organizations also included a video from Trump. Additionally, the convention included remarks by Hegseth and numerous MAGA Christian figures like David Barton, Megan Basham, Mike Farris, Jack Hibbs, Tony Perkins, Samuel Rodriguez, Lorenzo Sewell, Matthew Staver, and William Wolfe.
Screengrab as Michael W. Smith performs “Angus Dei” during the National Prayer Breakfast on February 5, 2026, at the Washington Hilton in Washington, D.C.
Such involvement with Republican politics and Christian Nationalist efforts isn’t new for Smith. He performed at the 2004 Republican National Convention that renominated George W. Bush, singing his patriotic song “There She Stands” as images of U.S. flags and soldiers appeared on the large screens behind him. In that song, which he wrote at Bush’s request, Smith proclaims that when “all hope is lost,” he knows it’s going to be okay if someone will “show the way” to where “by the light she stands.”
In 2019, he partnered with Liberty University, a fundamentalist Baptist school in Virginia founded by the late Jerry Falwell Sr., to create the Michael W. Smith Center for Commercial Music. At the time, Liberty was led by Jerry Falwell Jr., an early Christian supporter of Trump who resigned in 2020 amid allegations of sexual misconduct.
During the 2020 presidential campaign, Smith performed during a rally led by Trump-backing evangelist Franklin Graham on the National Mall. The event also included remarks by Vice President Mike Pence, Mike Huckabee, Oliver North, Greg Laurie, and Paula White-Cain. In 2023, Smith publicly campaigned against an Ohio ballot measure that overturned a strict abortion ban, calling the vote “a spiritual battle.”
During the first Trump administration, Smith joined other Christian musicians and conservative Christian leaders in signing an open letter urging Congress to reject proposed Trump administration cuts to international aid programs. He did not, however, offer such public advocacy when those programs were decimated by the second Trump administration.
Smith has performed at the Pentagon before, though at an event hosted by the Pentagon’s Chaplain’s Office instead of the Secretary of Defense. During that February 2024 concert he sang several songs in a concert at the Pentagon, including “Agnus Dei” and “Surrounded (Fight My Battles).”
There was no reference during Wednesday’s service to Smith or whether he would be at a future service.
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Place in This World
The monthly worship services at the Pentagon continue to spark more controversy, especially after Hegseth had Doug Wilson preach last month. Democratic U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock, who is also pastor of the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, criticized Hegseth for inviting a preacher “who does not believe that women ought to be able to vote, who says that slavery was not so bad, and who believes that America ought to be a Christian theocracy.”
“The beauty of America is that we have a covenant with one another,” Warnock added. “Those of various faith traditions, those who claim no faith tradition at all are joined together in a kind of faith in our ability to move forward as one country. E Pluribus Unum, out of many, one. I don’t want to live in anybody’s theocracy — Christian, Jewish, Islamic. We live in a multifaceted democracy, and there’s nothing more dignified than every person having their voice.”
Screengrabs as Doug Collins preaches (left) and Jason Kuhn, Cade Thompson, and Lucy Fave lead music (right) during a worship service at the Pentagon on March 25, 2026.
During remarks at the National Religious Broadcasters convention last month, Hegseth defended the worship services. He called them “a time where we pause during a very busy day to give thanks, praise, and glory to God in the name of Jesus Christ.” He also dismissed the growing criticism.
“We hear a lot from the freedom-from-religion crowd. They hate it. The leftwing shrieks, which means we’re right over the target,” he declared.
Chris Line, legal counsel for the Freedom from Religion Foundation, responded to Hegseth’s remarks by noting the constitutional problem with the services: “Hosting sectarian worship services inside the Pentagon is already among the most serious First Amendment Establishment Clause violations we’ve seen in recent memory.”
This week, another church-state group, Americans United for Separation of Church and State (where I serve as vice chair of the national board of trustees), filed lawsuits against the Department of Defense and the Department of Labor for holding government worship services. As AU President and CEO Rachel Laser said about the services: “The federal government’s role is to serve the public, not to proselytize.”
As a public witness,
Brian Kaylor
By the way, learn more about the monthly services at the Pentagon and the Department of Labor at our “Government Worship Watch.”
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