America's troops face new pressure under Trump admin as Pentagon concerns go unheard

The First Amendment strictly prohibits the government from favoring one faith over another, or from endorsing religion in general, whether through subtle or not-so-subtle means. As it evolved from Constitutional text into the canons of caselaw, that framework has protected the plurality for over 250 years by heeding our founders’ warnings to keep church and state separate.

In 1962, the Supreme Court ruled it unconstitutional under the Establishment Clause for public school officials to sponsor or encourage prayer in school. State regulations in New York required public schools to open each day with both the Pledge of Allegiance and a nondenominational prayer in which the students recognized their dependence upon an un-named and unspecified God. Under that law, students could absent themselves from the prayer if they found it objectionable. A parent sued.

The Court found that the recitation of a state-composed, non-denominational prayer in public schools was a form of religious indoctrination, even if the prayer was not specific to one denomination, even if it was optional.

The rub then and now is that “optional” participation in a setting controlled by the government is never completely optional. The Jewish kid, the Muslim kid, the Buddhist kid, or the child taught to love God as nature instead of a vindictive creep in the sky has to set themselves apart from the other kids in order not to participate in the prayer. Even standing there silently while the popular kids mouth the prayer all around you can signal difference— defiance against the norm, even. Given stigma and peer pressure, the Court acknowledged that there are social ‘costs’ for not adhering to the group norm. That’s why reinforcing religion as a norm is a form of government indoctrination prohibited under the First Amendment.

Hegseth: First Amendment Who???

Despite the decades-long smacking clarity of the law, Pete Hegseth, the former Fox News bobblehead who renamed the Department of Defense the Department of War without permission from Congress, can’t stop imposing his own religion on the military.

Hegseth holds a monthly Evangelical prayer service at the Pentagon. He announces and promotes his monthly worship coven, what some have called “combative Christianity,” through formal announcements to the troops, and by encouraging attendees to spread the word.

Similar to the school prayer case, these ‘voluntary’ services aren’t entirely voluntary even though Hegseth says they are. They are held in the official Pentagon auditorium, and are broadcast on the Pentagon’s internal TV network, a system designed for maximum saturation at military installations available to over 1.4 million active duty personnel, 1.2 million National Guard/Reserve, 650,000 civilian employees, and thousands of military residents.

The First Amendment is woke now?

Hegseth also promotes his personal pastor who preaches that women shouldn’t have the right to vote, and has brought him to the Pentagon. Through this and other means, Hegseth is moving to advance white, male Evangelical troops by merging his brand of church with his brand of state.

The Pentagon says Hegseth is embracing America’s proud history as a “Christian Nation,” which reflects this administration’s appalling historical ignorance. It’s a problem, not just because it’s an ignorant violation of our most revered First Amendment, but because it divides the troops and is therefore dangerous.

Military safety requires troop cohesion, which is why, throughout history, enemies frequently try to divide opposing troops. Hegseth, now in command of the world’s most powerful armed forces, doesn’t seem to grasp this basic, fundamental, ‘War for Dummies’ military logic. A scholar at Georgetown University’s Center for Religion, Peace and World Affairs said it best: “The ideological consolidation of the military is something that we have historically not wanted. We want the military to be diverse. We want the military representative of the American people.” To be obvious about it, would you want your son in the trenches with someone he doesn’t fully trust, or who doesn’t fully trust him, because their religious differences have been amplified?

The Pope to Hegseth: God doesn’t like your hateful ways

In promoting Trump’s illegal war in Iran, Hegseth recently invoked Christ’s name in wishing for “overwhelming violence of action against those who deserve no mercy. We ask these things with bold confidence in the mighty and powerful name of Jesus Christ.” Setting aside the blatantly anti-Christian message of “violence” and “no mercy” for human beings, which also violates international laws of combat, Hegseth’s prayer lusts shamefully for violence. Pope Leo XIV isn’t having it.

Pope Leo, in an indirect but pointed rebuke, said during his Palm Sunday Mass in St. Peter’s Square that “God doesn't listen to the prayers of those who make war, or cite God to justify their violence.” Opposed to Trump’s war in Iran, he then prayed for the Middle East, tacitly acknowledging that civilians, as well as troops under Hegseth’s command, are in danger given Hegseth’s obsession with “killing” people without regard to law.

The chilling effects of Hegseth’s attempt to impose Christian Nationalism on the troops are real. One senior Army civilian who has worked in the Pentagon for decades told the Washington Post that, “people who work there are afraid to talk to one another or their superiors about concerns over Hegseth’s actions…limits that used to exist around proselytizing have evaporated under Hegseth.” The situation, the person said, is “terrifying: If troops are trained to believe that God is on our side, what precludes us from doing anything we want to win? The strength of our military is our people, and their sense of belonging to their unit and their service.”

Advancing Christian Nationalism among the troops is not just an affront to U.S. history and the most revered First Amendment to the Constitution, it puts soldiers at risk. Here’s hoping the Generals are talking amongst themselves.

Sabrina Haake is a columnist and 25+ year federal trial attorney specializing in 1st and 14th A defense. She writes the free Substack, The Haake Take.