{"id":2438374,"date":"2025-05-23T11:45:57","date_gmt":"2025-05-23T15:45:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/pete-hegseth-gives-a-history-lesson-to-leftists-upset-about-his-pentagon-prayer-service\/"},"modified":"2025-05-23T11:47:57","modified_gmt":"2025-05-23T15:47:57","slug":"pete-hegseth-gives-a-history-lesson-to-leftists-upset-about-his-pentagon-prayer-service","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/pete-hegseth-gives-a-history-lesson-to-leftists-upset-about-his-pentagon-prayer-service\/","title":{"rendered":"Pete Hegseth Gives a History Lesson to Leftists Upset About His Pentagon Prayer Service"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">28<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fpete-hegseth-gives-a-history-lesson-to-leftists-upset-about-his-pentagon-prayer-service%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2438374&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has come under criticism for hosting a Christian prayer service at the Pentagon, which he confirmed would be a monthly voluntary event. The <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >service faced backlash primarily<\/a> from liberal media and critics who raised concerns regarding its legality under the First Amendment, suggesting it could violate the separation of church and state. Hegseth defended the event by referencing the military&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/who-else-do-you-want-to-loot-sen-cruz-destroys-progressive-leader-over-elon-musk-attacks\/\" title=\"\u2018Who Else Do You Want To Loot?\u2019: Sen. Cruz Destroys Progressive Leader Over Elon Musk Attacks\">long-standing tradition<\/a> of prayer and expressed pride in appealing to a higher power for guidance and protection. Critics, including retired military personnel, claimed that the initiative represents a problematic endorsement of religion in an official military context. Hegseth emphasized the importance of faith in military history and reiterated his support for the service amidst the debates surrounding its appropriateness.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth slammed critics of a Christian prayer service held Wednesday at the Pentagon in Thursday comments to reporters.<\/p>\n<p>Hegseth defended his decision to host a 30-minute <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/cnn-freaks-prayer-hegseths-pastor-gave-pentagon-no-wonder-excellent\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">prayer service<\/a> at the Pentagon with his home pastor Brooks Potteiger, telling reporters that the event will be a monthly voluntary function at the Department of Defense. Multiple <a href=\"https:\/\/www.msnbc.com\/rachel-maddow-show\/maddowblog\/pete-hegseth-leading-christian-prayer-service-pentagon-problematic-rcna208582\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">liberal<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.huffpost.com\/entry\/pete-hegseth-christian-prayer-pentagon_n_682ee21fe4b0ef574bf58a2a\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">media<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mediaite.com\/politics\/hegseth-holds-christian-prayer-service-at-the-pentagon-and-his-pastor-says-god-chose-trump-to-bring-moral-clarity\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">outlets<\/a> lambasted the decision to hold the service, calling into question its legality under the First Amendment&rsquo;s protections against state-endorsed religion.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve gotten some criticism for the Christian prayer service at the Pentagon yesterday. We said it very publicly, said it very proudly,&rdquo; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/anyone-even-remotely-responsible-disastrous-afghanistan-withdrawal-will-terrified-hegseths-new-memo\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Hegseth<\/a> told reporters. &ldquo;Appealing to Heaven, to God, it&rsquo;s a longstanding tradition in our military. I&rsquo;m very proud of starting a monthly voluntary service at the Pentagon.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-media-max-width=\"560\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Reporter: You received some criticism for hosting a prayer service at the Pentagon<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SecDef?\">@SecDef<\/a> &ldquo;We said it very publicly, we said it very proudly. Appealing to Heaven, to God, is a long-standing tradition in our military.<\/p>\n<p>I appeal to Jesus Christ for that protection. We&rsquo;re gonna&hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/cPLCo0ld8S\">pic.twitter.com\/cPLCo0ld8S<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; DOD Rapid Response (@DODResponse) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/DODResponse\/status\/1925724611234214391?\">May 23, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p> <script type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\tif ( getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"stnvideo\").remove() \t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\tdocument.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\", function() { \t\t\t\t\tfunction loadScript(src) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst script=document.createElement(\"script\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.src=src; \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.async=true; \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.body.appendChild(script); \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\tfunction findPreviousParagraph(selector, x) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst targetElement=document.querySelector(selector); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!targetElement) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Target element not found.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Get all <\/p>\n<p> elements in order as they appear in the document \t\t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphs=Array.from(document.querySelectorAll(\"p\"));  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the index of the last <\/p>\n<p> before the target element \t\t\t\t\t\tlet targetIndex=paragraphs.findIndex(p=> p.compareDocumentPosition(targetElement) & Node.DOCUMENT_POSITION_PRECEDING);  \t\t\t\t\t\tif (targetIndex===-1 || targetIndex <x) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Not enough paragraphs before the target element.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\treturn paragraphs[targetIndex - x]; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Set up IntersectionObserver \t\t\t\t\tfunction observeElement(element) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!element) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst observer=new IntersectionObserver( \t\t\t\t\t\t\t(entries)=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tentries.forEach(entry=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tif (entry.isIntersecting) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log(\"Paragraph is now visible:\", entry.target.textContent.trim()); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tloadScript(\"https:\/\/embed.sendtonews.com\/player3\/embedcode.js?fk=s28Az7AY\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.disconnect(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t}, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t{ threshold: 0.5 } \/\/ Adjust threshold as needed \t\t\t\t\t\t);  \t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.observe(element); \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the 1st paragraph before #stnvideo and observe it \t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphToObserve=findPreviousParagraph(\"#stnvideo\", 2); \t\t\t\t\tobserveElement(paragraphToObserve); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;George Washington is on bended knee with the troops, praying for God&rsquo;s providence and protection in that moment. Chaplains, ministers, Christians and people of faith across generations have prayed because the business that we&rsquo;re in is the business of the 82nd Airborne, and we watch that 9-1-1 button for the country,&rdquo; Hegseth said. &ldquo;And we appeal to God. I appeal to Jesus Christ for that protection, to speak that word and be open and willing to talk about that at the Pentagon. If they want to criticize that, they&rsquo;re on the wrong side of a very important issue<i>.<\/i>&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Retired Air Force Lt. Col. Rachel VanLandingham <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2025\/05\/21\/politics\/hegseth-pentagon-christian-prayer-service\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">told<\/a> CNN that Hegseth&rsquo;s endorsement of the event as official constitutes a violation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, while a former Pentagon lawyer described the event as &ldquo;incredibly problematic.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The military regularly offers prayer services for its soldiers, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militaryonesource.mil\/benefits\/unit-chaplain-roles-and-responsibilities\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">enlisting<\/a> chaplains to tend to the spiritual and mental needs of service members. Moreover, the U.S. military has a longstanding <a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/how-the-us-military-has-embraced-growing-religious-diversity-124734\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">tradition<\/a> of incorporating Christianity into its ranks since the founding.<\/p>\n<p>Potteiger gave a sermon during the standing-room only event on the sovereignty of God among other topics, invoking the book of Matthew 10, according to CNN. Potteiger&rsquo;s church, part of the Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches, is theologically conservative in its <a href=\"https:\/\/crechurches.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/CREC_Governing_Docs_2022.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">founding<\/a> documents.<\/p>\n<p>In a 2019 study, nearly 70 percent of active-duty service members identified as Christian, according to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.congress.gov\/crs-product\/R44321\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Congressional Research Service<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/hegseths-memo-american-military-academies-will-make-left-furious-ensures-us-officer-corps-deadly-efficiency\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Hegseth<\/a> made the comments closing out his Thursday trip to Fort Bragg in North Carolina, where he attended a ceremony honoring the 82nd Airborne Division of the U.S. Army. During his speech, the Defense secretary announced that Army paratroopers would get a substantial bump to their hazard pay.<\/p>\n<div class=\"disclaimer\">\n<p><em>All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/union-membership-plummets-to-record-low\/\" title=\"Union Membership Plummets to Record Low\">legitimate news publisher<\/a> that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter&rsquo;s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/mailto:licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org\">licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey==typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts={ \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs=[ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i=0; i <inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! 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He stood by his choice to organize a 30-minute prayer session with his pastor, Brooks Potteiger, stating that it will be a monthly voluntary event at the Department of Defense. Several liberal media outlets condemned the service, questioning its legality under the First Amendment&#8217;s separation of church and state. Hegseth remarked, &#8220;We announced it publicly and proudly,&#8221; emphasizing that seeking divine guidance is a long-standing military tradition. He expressed pride in initiating this monthly service and defended its significance in military culture. Critics included retired Air Force Lt. Col. Rachel VanLandingham, who argued that Hegseth&#8217;s support for the event violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2438375,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Pete-Hegseth-6.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[50410,55792,5965,55791,44930],"class_list":["post-2438374","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-controversy-2","tag-history-lesson","tag-leftists","tag-pentagon-prayer","tag-pete-hegseth"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Pete-Hegseth-6.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2438374","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2438374"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2438374\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2438378,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2438374\/revisions\/2438378"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2438375"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2438374"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2438374"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2438374"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}