The Freedom From Religion Foundation is denouncing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s latest effort to transform the U.S. military into a vehicle for his brand of Christian nationalism.
Hegseth kicked off what the Pentagon is calling the “Send Me Tour” during a visit late last week to Texas A&M University, where he addressed the university’s Corps of Cadets.
“This is our first stop on what we are calling the SEND ME TOUR,” Hegseth told the cadets. “If you know your Book of Isaiah, Chapter 6, Verse 8, the Lord said, ‘Whom shall I send?’ Isaiah says, ‘Lord, I AM HERE. SEND ME.’”
Hegseth then explicitly connected the biblical passage to American military service.
“For 250 years of this country, there have been men and women who raised their right hand and said, ‘SEND ME,’” Hegseth stated, before referring to Americans fighting the Redcoats, communists and “Islamists.”
The Pentagon itself has adopted the biblical branding. Its announcement of Hegseth’s Texas trip identified his appearance at Texas A&M as part of the “Send Me Tour,” alongside meetings with the Corps of Cadets and the university’s Veterans Resource Center.
FFRF emphasizes there is something deeply wrong with the nation’s highest-ranking defense official using the machinery and prestige of the U.S. armed forces to recast military service as answering a biblical call from God.
“Hegseth seems to have forgotten that he oversees the U.S. military — not a Christian crusade,” says FFRF Co-President Dan Barker. “Service members take an oath to support and defend our godless and entirely secular Constitution, not somebody else’s so-called holy book. Hegseth’s religious overreach is increasing and shocking — and demonstrates that he needs to be reined in.”
FFRF points out that a biblical deity is not sending service members into battle; they signed up to serve their secular country. FFRF, as the nation’s largest association of freethinkers (atheists, agnostics), also points out that 18 percent of active military members are atheist/agnostic, and another 32 percent have no religious affiliation, according to research, putting the “Nones” overall at half of current military members!
The “Send Me Tour” is not an isolated incident, but only the latest development in a pattern of Hegseth misusing his government position to promote an explicitly Christian conception of the United States and its military.
Hegseth has repeatedly cited Isaiah 6:8 in connection with military service and recruitment. At the Pentagon’s Sept. 11 observance marking 25 years since the terrorist attacks, he also compared Isaiah answering God’s call with Americans volunteering for military service after 9/11.
That rhetoric is particularly disturbing given the history surrounding the Sept. 11 attacks. Just five days after the attacks in 2001, President George W. Bush drew international criticism after describing the coming fight against terrorism as a “crusade.” Bush subsequently backed away from the historically charged term.
It is dismaying to see Hegseth, a quarter century later, employing explicitly violent Christian imagery, especially at a time when the United States is engaged in war with Iran, a predominantly Muslim country.
Hegseth recently invoked Psalm 144, including its language about God training hands for war and fingers for battle, in connection with U.S. military operations. He has repeatedly blended biblical imagery, military force and his false promotion of the United States as a Christian nation.
And Hegseth has institutionalized sectarian Christianity inside the Pentagon itself. Since May 2025, Hegseth has hosted monthly “Christian Prayer & Worship Service” events at the Pentagon featuring Christian preaching, prayer and hymns. At the Sept. 16 service, Hegseth quoted Psalm 33 before falsely declaring that America “was founded as a Christian nation” and “remains one.”
This claim is historically and constitutionally false, given that the Constitution establishes a secular government, contains no reference to a deity, Christianity or Jesus, prohibits religious tests for public office and protects religious liberty for citizens regardless of belief or nonbelief.
Hegseth’s conduct has now become part of a broader congressional controversy surrounding his tenure.
Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., has introduced articles of impeachment against Hegseth alleging high crimes and misdemeanors related to the war with Iran, military strikes in the Caribbean and alleged suppression of protected speech. A separate group of House Democrats previously introduced its own impeachment resolution accusing Hegseth of misconduct, including prosecuting an unauthorized war and mishandling classified information.
FFRF supports congressional efforts to hold Hegseth accountable and believes his sustained promotion of Christian nationalism as secretary of defense provides additional reason for Congress to closely scrutinize his conduct.
The constitutional concern extends far beyond any single bible quotation. Cabinet officials retain their personal religious freedom, including the right to pray, worship and discuss their beliefs. But holding public office does not confer a license to enlist the government itself in promoting those beliefs.
The secretary of defense exercises extraordinary authority over millions of military and civilian personnel. When the person at the top repeatedly declares that America is a Christian nation, holds government-branded Christian worship services and now launches a military tour named for a biblical call from his god,service members outside Hegseth’s preferred faith receive an unmistakable message about which service members enjoy official favor.
That is precisely what the Constitution’s principle of separation between state and church is designed to prevent.
“Pete Hegseth is free to answer whatever religious calling he personally believes he has received,” Barker adds. “He is not free to answer it on behalf of the U.S. military. Our armed forces defend a secular Constitution and a pluralistic nation, not Christianity. Congress should treat this escalating pattern with the seriousness it deserves.”
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a U.S.-based nonprofit dedicated to defending the constitutional principle of separation between state and church and educating the public on matters relating to nontheism. With about 41,000 members, FFRF is the largest association of freethinkers (atheists, agnostics and humanists) in North America. For more information, visit ffrf.org.
