A monthlong series of Christian worship services at the Department of Defense has become a window into the religious worldview driving military decisions under Pete Hegseth's leadership as defense secretary.
Brooks Potteiger, Hegseth's personal pastor, has delivered sermons at these monthly Pentagon services that frame military action through a theological lens. In one address, Potteiger told attendees that commanders need not feel solely responsible for the outcomes of their decisions, describing a tension between human agency and divine will that has become central to how the Pentagon's leadership approaches strategic choices.
That theological framework took on immediate consequences when a Tomahawk missile struck the Shajareh Tayyebeh elementary school in Minab, Iran. The strike killed schoolchildren, teachers, and parents in classrooms decorated for a school event. The attack occurred nine months and six days after Potteiger's Pentagon sermon.
The integration of conservative Christian ideology into Pentagon operations raises questions about whether military strategy is being filtered through religious conviction. Hegseth has long been vocal about his faith commitments, and his selection of spiritual advisers reflects that orientation. The monthly services suggest a deliberate effort to embed religious reasoning into the defense establishment's decision-making culture.
The incident in Minab highlights the real-world stakes of that theological influence. Critics argue that framing military action through a religious lens risks distorting strategic judgment and disconnecting commanders from accountability for civilian casualties. Others see the emphasis on faith as part of a broader pattern of decision-making at odds with traditional military doctrine and international law.
The Pentagon's Christian worship services continue, cementing what observers describe as an increasingly problematic merger of faith and military force at the highest levels of US defense policy.
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