What Senators Should Ask Pete Hegseth About Christian Nationalism

Hegseth goes on Tuesday

Tomorrow Donald Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Defense and former Fox News host Pete Hegseth is scheduled to appear before the Armed Services Committee of the Senate for confirmation hearings. Hegseth has a boatload of problems (and for sure he should be asked about them), but I want to focus on how his religious statements are relevant to his appointment.

Probably, some are going to complain that Hegseth’s religious beliefs should not matter since the Constitution forbids a religious test for public service. It is true that the Article VI is a precious plank in the Constitution which states: “no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.”

Senator Bernie Sanders went a little close to the line on this point with another one of Trump’s appointees in 2017. In questioning then-nominee for deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget Russell Vought, Sanders took exception to Vought’s statements about Islam. At the time, it appeared that Sanders was upset over Vought’s beliefs, rather than how those beliefs might influence his actions. Vought was confirmed, but the episode raised the issue of how religion can be addressed without infringing, even in spirit, on the no religious test clause.

Although I am not offering a legal interpretation, I can offer this. When the clause was brought up in the Constitutional Convention, there was little debate. One would be hard pressed to find nuance in what the delegates did in August 1787. One thing seemed clear: they didn’t want a Christian nation. As the Constitution went out around the new nation to be ratified, defenders of the document said it was entirely possible that non-Christians could be elected to federal office because of the no religious test clause. Some anti-federalists didn’t like that but the Constitution was ratified anyway.

But what about now? Are Senators barred from asking? I certainly don’t think so. By their inquiries, they cannot keep anybody from office. However, they do need to know if nominees would use their office to keep others from office on forbidden grounds. Let’s take Pete Hegseth. He has been pretty vocal about his religious views. He attends a church that can be accurately described as having Christian nationalist views. If he followed through on some of his statements, he might place the freedoms and rights of others in some jeopardy. However, just believing what he believes might not disqualify him. What he says he will do, on the other hand, might.

I asked religion scholar and author of The Violent Take It By Force Matthew Taylor what he thinks would be good to ask. I like his ideas and hope the Senators will ask something like these questions to Pete Hegseth:

• You [Hegseth] wrote once: “Our present moment is much like the 11th Century. We don’t want to fight, but, like our fellow Christians one thousand years ago, we must... Arm yourself — metaphorically, intellectually, physically. Our fight is not with guns. Yet.” What do you mean by "Yet."? When would "our fight" begin to include guns?

• Given your history of anti-Muslim rhetoric, what would you say to current Muslim members of our armed forces to assuage legitimate concerns they might have that you would discriminate against them from your perch as secretary of defense?

• Do you believe that non-Christian chaplains in the U.S. military should have all the same rights, freedoms, and access to the troops as Christian chaplains? Would that include Muslim chaplains? Satanist chaplains? Secular/atheist chaplains?

• There is a widely acknowledged problem of right-wing extremism in the U.S. military, as evidenced by the outsize number of active-duty service members and veterans who participated in January 6th. Do you agree that the violence on January 6th was perpetrated by right-wing extremists? Is Christianity ever part of the matrix of right-wing extremism? What would you do to counter or root out right-wing extremism in the military?

And then here is one I think all Trump’s nominees should be asked:

• Do you believe in the separation of church and state as a constitutional principle in American jurisprudence?

I’ll give Matt credit for the wording, but that is a question always on my mind. In fact, that principle is underneath all of the questions Matt asked. I am worried we are heading into a dark time with most of Trump’s nominees when it comes to separation of church and state. Trump has promised to pay back his Christian nationalist voters with more power than they can imagine. My big concern with that is that they can imagine a lot of power. And since power isn’t really good for a church, I don’t see either church or state benefiting.

Photo: Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, USA