Who Is Doug Wilson? Pentagon Defends Pastor Who Led Christian Prayer Service

The Pentagon is defending its invitation to have Doug Wilson, a pastor whose views on issues including women voters and slavery have been deemed by some as radical, partake in a Christian prayer service on Tuesday.

Wilson, 72, joined U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth during what has become a monthly staple under the Secretary’s leadership, starting in May 2025 with Hegseth’s pastor in Tennessee, Brooks Potteiger, and continuing as recently as this week. Wilson and Hegseth exchanged words of gratitude and appreciation towards one another and of their faith during the afternoon event.

A photo of Hegseth with his hand on Wilson’s shoulder on Tuesday was accompanied by an X post, reading: “We have gathered at the Pentagon for our monthly worship service. We are One Nation Under God.”

Military.com reported on Saturday that this month’s service, which included an invitation from “SECWAR” with a cross, led to a flurry of complaints from active-duty members, veterans and defense contractors. One contractor, for example, told Military.com that this particular invite, one of many throughout the past few months, was "stark, depressing, almost threatening."

Prior to January's service, similar concerns were iterated to Military.com but not to the degree as this month.

The Pentagon has remained steadfast in continuing to host these services, however, both in person and with live viewing opportunities through the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service, or DVIDS.

Military.com asked the Pentagon if it had any reservations about Wilson's presence inside the Pentagon on Tuesday, considering his series of remarks and views reflecting the Christian faith.

"Secretary Hegseth, along with millions of Americans, is a proud Christian and was glad to welcome Pastor Wilson to the Pentagon today,” Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson told Military.com on Wednesday.

The Christian faith is woven deeply into the fabric of our nation and shared by America's wartime leaders like President George Washington, who prayed for his troops at Valley Forge, and President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who gifted Bibles to America soldiers during WW2 and encouraged them to read it.

"Despite the Left's efforts to remove our Christian heritage from our great nation, Secretary Hegseth is among those who embrace it," she added.

Who Is Doug Wilson?

Doug Wilson is a theologian and pastor at Christ Church in Moscow, Idaho, whose varied views on issues pertaining to abortion, same-sex marriage, slavery and visions of a white Christian nation have drawn consternation even within some religious circles.

Wilson founded the Congregation of Reformed Evangelical Churches (CREC), which Hegseth has been a part of while living in Tennessee. Wilson recently announced that Brooks Potteiger, who was the first pastor to oversee a Pentagon prayer service, and his wife were moving to the nation’s capital to oversee Christ Church D.C.

Wilson’s Statements About Females Voting

Some of Wilson’s statements over the years have been viewed as dubious, sexist and unbecoming of a Christian.

One of those statements involved Wilson, 72, who is married and a father, saying that giving women the lawful ability to vote is a bad idea—saying, "Women are the kind of people that people come out of."

"The wife and mother, who is the chief executive of the home, is entrusted with three or four or five eternal souls," Wilson said during an interview with CNN in August 2025.

Hegseth, following the interview, posted a clip of Wilson’s appearance on X with the caption: "All of Christ for All of Life."

Wilson’s remarks and Hegseth’s reposting of them led to questions to the Pentagon about whether the defense secretary also believes women shouldn’t vote.

Kingsley Wilson, who was asked by the press last summer about the ordeal, on Wednesday referred Military.com to her remarks at that time pertaining to Hegseth's beliefs and the 19th Amendment.

“Of course the Secretary thinks that women should have the right to vote,” Wilson said last year. “That's a stupid question. To be honest with you, I'm very excited to see the incredible recruitment numbers not just for men and women, but just across every single branch of our military. It's truly a testament to his leadership.”

When pressed again by a reporter, Wilson said the following: “As we have said on-the-record numerous times, the Secretary is a proud member of a church that is affiliated with the Congregation of Reformed Evangelical Churches which was founded by Pastor Doug Wilson. The Secretary very much appreciates many of Mr. Wilson's writings and teachings.”

The Pastor's Other Views

Wilson has also varied views on slavery, once telling the Associated Press: “There was horrific maltreatment on the one hand, and then there are other stories that are right out of Disney’s ‘Song of the South.'"

"Song of the South" was a 1946 American musical film produced by Walt Disney and based on the Uncle Remus stories by Joel Chandler Harris, about a young boy who goes to live in the American South. The film has never been released by Disney on any home video format, including on its streaming platform Disney+.

When asked whether he was a Christian nationalist, Wilson told the AP: “I am more than happy to work with that label because it’s a better label than what I usually get called."

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Wilson encouraged his parishioners to combat coronavirus-related health measures and used his church to organize in-person protests and support civil disobedience across media channels owned by the church.

He's also been open and consistent about his views against abortion and same-sex marriage.

CREC Representative Backs Wilson, Pentagon Services

Uriesou Brito is the presiding minister of counsel for the CREC, broadly representing the denomination. CREC congregations differ on matters related to church membership and voting.

Brito, when asked by Military.com about Wilson’s appearance at the Pentagon, referred to Wilson’s appearance within the Pentagon on Tuesday as “a pastoral relationship, not a political alliance.”

“Like many Christians in public office, Secretary Hegseth attends church and receives ordinary spiritual care,” Brito said. “The CREC is not advising the Pentagon; a Christian simply remains part of his local communion wherever he serves.”

Brito went on to say that such gatherings “are acts of worship, not instruments of ideology,” adding that Christians pray where they live and work.

“The purpose is encouragement in faith, repentance, and dependence on God—not the promotion of a racial or national program,” he said. “Participation is voluntary. Religious liberty means believers are free to pray and unbelievers are free not to. Accommodation of worship is not coercion; it is the normal outworking of the First Amendment in our society.”

Military.com received no response from Brito when he was asked about Wilson’s past controversial statements.