WASHINGTON (RNS) — After weeks of turmoil, House Republicans elected Rep. Mike Johnson on Wednesday (Oct.25) as the new speaker of the House, an act the Louisiana congressman suggested was ordained by God.
“I believe that Scripture, the Bible, is very clear: that God is the one who raises up those in authority,” Johnson said in his first speech after being elected speaker in a 220-209 vote. “He raised up each of you. All of us.”
Johnson, an evangelical Christian, peppered his remarks with religious references. He recounted the history of how the motto “In God We Trust” was placed in the House chamber — a rebuke of communism, which many associated with atheism — and highlighted the Declaration of Independence’s use of “Creator.” He also noted the presence of Moses on the wall of the House chamber.
“Through adversity, it makes you stronger,” he said, referencing the three-week period in October that it took Republicans to elect a new speaker to replace the ousted Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
In a later speech on the Capitol steps, Johnson framed his leadership goals by citing Romans 5:3-4.
“I was reminded of the Scripture that says ‘Suffering produces perseverance, perseverance produces character, and character produces hope,’” he said. “What we need in this country is more hope.”
Johnson has been tied to multiple Baptist churches over the years and currently attends Cypress Baptist Church in Benton, Louisiana, according to the Louisiana Baptist Message. He is also a former lawyer and communications staffer with the Alliance Defense Fund, which later became known as Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative Christian legal firm.
According to CNN, Johnson penned a number of editorials while working at ADF, including ones in which he decried homosexuality as an “inherently unnatural” and “dangerous lifestyle” that could lead to the collapse of “the entire democratic system.”
Johnson has continued to voice support for conservative Christian viewpoints while in office, even hosting a podcast with his wife, Kelly, a licensed pastoral counselor, aimed at providing an “analysis of hot topics and current events from a Christian perspective.”
Among other things, Speaker Johnson has repeatedly rejected many broadly held interpretations of the separation of church and state.
“The founders wanted to protect the church from an encroaching state, not the other way around,” he said during a September 2022 episode of the podcast.
He went on to argue that “a free society and a healthy republic depend upon religious and moral virtue,” arguing that society would crumble without it.