Why US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth’s church opposes women voting: Understanding CREC’s controversial teachings

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has confirmed his membership in the Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches (CREC), an archconservative network of Christian congregations whose leaders have openly argued against women’s suffrage and championed patriarchal theology.

Hegseth, one of President Donald Trump’s most controversial Cabinet appointees, made headlines recently when he shared on social media a CNN video about CREC. The footage featured pastors defending the idea that women should not have the right to vote.

Among them was Pastor Doug Wilson, a co-founder of CREC and senior pastor of Christ Church in Moscow, Idaho -- the network’s flagship congregation. Known for his media-savvy persona and hard-line theological stances, Wilson thanked Hegseth for reposting the video, which carried Christ Church’s motto: “All of Christ for All of Life.”

“He was, in effect, reposting it and saying, ‘Amen,’ at some level,” Wilson said.

Close ties to the church

Hegseth attends Pilgrim Hill Reformed Fellowship, a CREC member congregation in a suburb outside Nashville, Tennessee. His pastor, Brooks Potteiger, once prayed at a service Hegseth hosted at the Pentagon. Recently, CREC launched Christ Church DC in Washington, D.C., where Hegseth was present for its inaugural Sunday service.

Pentagon chief spokesman Sean Parnell confirmed Hegseth’s affiliation, telling the Associated Press (AP) that the defence secretary “very much appreciates many of Wilson’s writings and teachings.”

CREC’s stance on women

CREC congregations follow complementarian theology, teaching that men and women have distinct, God-given roles. Women cannot hold leadership positions in the church, and married women are expected to submit to their husbands.

Wilson told the AP he believes the 19th Amendment — which granted women the right to vote — “was a bad idea,” although his wife and daughters vote.

In his own congregation, voting in church elections is generally restricted to heads of households, typically husbands and fathers, though unmarried women can qualify as voting members.

“Ordinarily, the vote is cast by the head of the household, the husband and father, because we’re patriarchal and not egalitarian,” Wilson said, adding that repealing the 19th Amendment is “not high on my list of priorities.”

Hegseth has also faced scrutiny over his views on women. Before his Pentagon nomination, he questioned whether women should serve in combat roles. Wilson, a U.S. Navy veteran who served on submarines, opposes women in certain military roles.

“I think we ought to find out the name of the person who suggested that we put women on those submarines and have that man committed,” Wilson said. “It’s like having a playpen that you put 50 cats in and then drop catnip in the middle of it. Whatever happens is going to be ugly. And if you think it’s going to advance the cause of women and make sailors start treating women less like objects, then you haven’t been around the block very many times.”

Inside the CREC

Founded in 1998, CREC comprises more than 130 churches worldwide. It adheres to a strict Reformed theology rooted in the 16th-century teachings of Protestant reformer John Calvin, with a focus on God’s dominion over all aspects of society.

Religion scholar Julie Ingersoll, a professor at the University of North Florida and author of Building God’s Kingdom (2015), told AP that CREC is influenced by Christian Reconstructionism, a 20th-century Reformed movement. She said Wilson’s slogan — repeated by Hegseth — reflects this theology:

“When he says, ‘All of life,’ he’s referencing the idea that it’s the job of Christians to exercise dominion over the whole world,” Ingersoll explained.

Wilson’s ministry extends beyond Christ Church to educational initiatives such as the Association of Christian Classical Schools and New Saint Andrew’s College in Moscow, Idaho. The church also operates a robust media arm, Canon Press, publisher of titles including The Case for Christian Nationalism and It’s Good to Be a Man: A Handbook for Godly Masculinity.

Christian nationalism and political reach

Wilson has long called for America to embrace its Christian roots -- a position historians dispute -- and openly identifies as a Christian nationalist.

“I am more than happy to work with that label because it’s a better label than what I usually get called,” Wilson said. “If I get called a white nationalist or a theo-fascist or a racist bigot, misogynist thug, I can’t work with them except to deny them. I’m a Christian, and I’m a patriot who loves my country. How do I combine those two things? How do they work together?”

In 2022, he wrote: “If we succeed, this will be Christian America 2.0.”

The American Christian nationalist movement is varied, encompassing evangelicals who view Trump as a political champion — some influenced by Christian Reconstructionism — along with charismatics framing politics as spiritual warfare, and Catholic postliberals advocating for a morally muscular state.

CREC’s recent expansion into Washington, DC, underscores its growing ties to national power. Wilson told AP that Christ Church DC began as a way to serve CREC members who relocated for work in the Trump administration.

“This is the first time we’ve had connections with as many people in national government as we do now,” Wilson said. “But this is not an ecclesiastical lobbying effort where we’re trying to meet important people. We’re trying to give some of these people an opportunity to meet with God.”