About Hegseth and women’s voting rights

A pastor at the Defense secretary’s church defends its conservative views.

- By TIRRANY STANLEY AND PETER SMITH

WIN MCNAMEE Getty Images

PETE HEGSETH recently shared a video of his church's pastors arguing that women shouldn't vote.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says he’s proud to be part of the Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches, an archconservative network of Christian congregations.

Hegseth recently made headlines when he shared a CNN video on social media about CREC, showing its pastors arguing women should not have the right to vote.

Pastor Doug Wilson, a CREC co-founder, leads Christ Church in Moscow, Idaho, the network's flagship location. Jovial and media-friendly, Wilson is no stranger to stirring controversy with his church's hardline theology and its embrace of patriarchy and Christian nationalism.

Wilson told the Associated Press on Monday he was gratefull Hegseth shared the video. He noted Hegseth’s post was labeled with 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.

Hegseth, among President Trump's most controversial Cabinet picks, attends Pilgrim Hill Reformed Fellowship, a CREC member church in a suburb of Nashville. His pastor, Brooks Potteiger, prayed at a service Hegseth hosted at the Pentagon.

CREC recently opened a new outpost in the nation’s capital, Christ Church DC, with Hegseth attending its first Sunday service.

Pentagon chief spokesman Sean Parnell confirmed Hegseth’s CREC affiliation and told the AP that Hegseth “very much appreciates many of Mr. Wilson's writings and teachings.”

Here are other things to know about the church network.

What does Wilson’s church say about women?