Monthly worship services at the Pentagon were instituted at the request of Sec. Hegseth in May of last year. Hegseth has received both criticism and praise for the initiative, with supporters lauding his emphasis on Christian values and detractors raising concerns about religious liberty and the non-establishment clause of the First Amendment.
Some legal experts have argued that while prayer gatherings at the Pentagon are not entirely unusual, Hegeth’s unprecedented personal endorsement of these meetings, which are broadcast to the entire department, could be seen as a misuse of official government authority to advance sectarian theology.
James Talarico: Christian Nationalism ‘Is a Betrayal of Jesus of Nazareth’
Earlier this week, a separate conversation about religious liberty was sparked when Texas State Rep. James Talarico appeared on “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” for an interview that was cut from the show’s live broadcast. The interview was instead posted to YouTube.
Colbert has alleged that the interview was cut as a result of pressure from the Trump-controlled Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Notably, Talarico, who is currently running as a Democrat for the U.S. Senate, is a vocal Christian but an equally vocal critic of President Donald Trump.
CBS has denied that it was prohibited by the FCC from airing the interview. The FCC previously opened a probe into “The View” after Talarico appeared on the show.
“I think Donald Trump is worried that we’re about to flip Texas,” Talarico told Colbert. “And this is the party that ran against cancel culture, and now they’re trying to control what we watch, what we say, what we read. And this is the most dangerous kind of cancel culture—the kind that comes from the top.”
During the interview, Colbert asked Talarico about his faith. Talarico is currently a student at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary, a school affiliated with the progressive denomination Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).
“The right attempts to co-opt Christianity,” said Colbert. “Like, ‘You can’t actually be a Christian and be a Democrat.’ But the religious right is largely a political movement that references spirituality, but it’s political. What is your heartfelt hand out to the people who want to use religion as a tool of political power?”
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“Well, for 50 years, the religious right, a political movement—that is a perfect description for it—they convinced a lot of our fellow Christians that the most important issues were abortion and gay marriage,” responded Talrico. “Two issues that aren’t mentioned in the Bible, two issues that Jesus never talked about.”
