God’s Work, Trump’s Will – How Pete Hegseth Turns the Culture War into Government Policy

There are political gestures that say more than any speech – and that carry more weight in their symbolism than any spontaneous remark. When US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth recently shared a video in which a leading figure of the Christian evangelical movement calls for the reintroduction of a legal ban on homosexual sex, it was one such gesture. No misunderstanding, no accidental like on social media – but a deliberate, public amplification of a message that reaches deep into the time before key civil rights rulings. In the clip, Doug Wilson, co-founder of the Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches (CREC) and long-time mentor to Hegseth, speaks with a nostalgic undertone about an era when sodomy was a crime in all 50 states. He explicitly says it was not a totalitarian hell – but suggests that such a criminal prohibition was an expression of a healthy society. In doing so, Wilson not only reactivates a socio-political worldview long regarded as a relic of authoritarian control, but openly positions himself against the cornerstones of modern equality. That Hegseth shares exactly this clip is no insignificant slip, but a political statement – a commitment to a reactionary agenda that has thrived for years in the slipstream of the Republican Party. Hegseth, who presents himself as a devout Christian and was appointed Defense Secretary by Donald Trump, maintains a close connection to Wilson and his CREC network. This movement is known for its fundamentalist interpretation of the Bible, its patriarchal gender order, and its targeted influence on educational institutions and local politics.

The signal effect of the shared video extends far beyond the circles of hardened culture warriors. At a time when the Trump administration is already using legal and administrative levers to roll back LGBTQ rights, Hegseth’s contribution acts like a deliberately placed marker: the goals are greater than just restricting certain legislative initiatives – it is about dismantling societal acceptance. The open articulation of this agenda, flanked by the highest military authority in the country, shifts what can be said in public discourse and gives radical forces momentum. Pete Hegseth is not just another conservative politician who occasionally cites Christian values to mobilize his base. He is part of a strategic project that fuses religion, nationalism, and authoritarian social concepts into a political doctrine. His closeness to Doug Wilson and the Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches (CREC) is no footnote, but an axis around which his ideology revolves. Since its founding, the CREC has pursued a clear agenda: expanding influence in local communities, creating its own educational structures, and promoting a society in which men and women occupy clearly separated, God-given roles. Its congregations are not merely religious meeting points, but training grounds for a generation prepared to reshape political institutions according to biblically fundamentalist principles. That Hegseth has found his spiritual home here is no coincidence – he fits into this structure because he can combine military discipline, media reach, and political power.

Since his appointment as Secretary of Defense under Donald Trump, Hegseth has acted not only as a military decision-maker but as an ideological amplifier. His closeness to Trump is characterized by mutual usefulness: Trump has in Hegseth a loyal defender of his agenda who is unafraid to openly wage culture wars. Hegseth, in turn, benefits from Trump’s platform and the opportunity to bring core conservative evangelical concerns into government decisions. Sharing the video with Doug Wilson is therefore not an isolated act but part of a longer-term strategy - to shift the boundaries of what can be publicly stated and politically implemented. When a sitting Secretary of Defense supports a demand that implies the criminalization of consensual same-sex relationships, a line is crossed that has long been considered untouchable. This deliberate provocation serves not only to mobilize his own base but to test how far the societal consensus on individual freedom has already eroded. The effect is twofold: on the one hand, it signals to radical groups that their positions are heard at the highest levels of government. On the other hand, it forces political opponents into a defensive position, in which they feel compelled to once again defend fundamental rights long thought settled. This creates a permanent culture war in which every won or lost confrontation lays the groundwork for the next - a scenario that fits perfectly into Trump’s strategic thinking. If Hegseth thus combines the legacy of his mentors with the political goals of his president, it is about more than personal conviction. It is the attempt to undermine the foundations of a pluralistic society - not with a single blow, but in a series of targeted, ideologically motivated interventions. And herein lies the real danger: a creeping axe with which social values are increasingly put at risk by a delusional religion - and journalistic collaborative productions that expose exactly this danger and stand firmly against it.

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