DAVIS: Pete Hegseth & I Know the Same Christian Nationalists

https://coloradotimesrecorder.com/2024/11/davis-pete-hegseth-i-know-the-same-christian-nationalists/66012/

When Donald Trump announced Pete Hegseth as his pick for secretary of defense, the initial public reaction was, understandably, something along the lines of, “A Fox News host is going to run the Pentagon?” It was only in the following days that the media fleshed out the public’s understanding of Hegseth and shone a light on one of his most prominent and controversial facets: his deep involvement with the Christian nationalist movement. As I dug into Hegseth, something deeper struck me.

National outlets like The Guardian and The New Republic have flagged Hegseth’s crusader-inspired tattoos, his links to ultra-conservative Christian organizations, and his frequent espousal of Christian nationalist beliefs, but most of these write-ups were not granular enough for me to tell just what kind of Christian nationalist Hegseth is.

The Christian nationalist movement is a unified political force, but the coalition of believers who constitute the movement arrive at it from different theological and cultural backgrounds – from the emotionalistic charismatic Pentecostals to the stern and bearded Reformed crowd. As I learned more about the ins and outs of Hegseth’s particular brand of Christian nationalism, I was struck by how similar it was to the version of the movement I was raised in: more “TheoBro” than charismatic, more literary and rationalist than emotional and inspiring.

And then I dug further and realized the reason for the overlap: Pete Hegseth’s version of Christian nationalism is not just similar to the version I was raised in. It’s the exact same, and it’s coming from the same places.

*snip*