Marcus Howley ’28

by Marcus Howley ’28 on April 16, 2026

Separation of church and state has long been one of the most noble features of our American political system. It has allowed the United States to continue to present itself as a nation that is welcome and open to people of all faiths and creeds, even though the nation has a long history of religious discrimination. The War in Iran and previous wars in the Middle East, dating back to leaders such as former President Ronald Reagan, have stirred up an almost crusader-like fervor among some. This all stems back to the very simple fact that the U.S. is a predominantly Protestant-Christian nation that finds itself in conflict with the Muslim nations of the Middle East. This fact makes it easy for some to frame the conflicts as a religious battle between Christianity, and often Judaism, against Islam.  

The newly coined Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, views himself as a crusader. In fact, he wrote a whole book about it in which he describes Islamism as an enemy to America and as a false religion. His body serves as a canvas for his crusading bravado. The tattoos Hegseth has include the Bible verse Mathew 10:34, which states, “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.” The exact kind of slogan you want the head of the most powerful military on Earth to live by. He also has a tattoo in Arabic that roughly translates to “infidel” or “disbeliever in Allah.” This tattoo is an ironic statement given his other tattoos and a clear attack on the faith of Muslims. The most prominent of all his tattoos is a large Jerusalem Cross on his chest—a symbol popularly associated with the Crusades. 

It seems that in his mind Hegseth views himself as a champion bringing upon God’s wrath to infidels and non-believers of the world. In a recent prayer service, Hegseth prayed concerningly for “overwhelming violence of action against those who deserve no mercy.”  He finished his prayer with, “We ask these things with bold confidence in the mighty and powerful name of Jesus Christ.” The remarks immediately sounded alarm bells in many across the secular and religious world. Pope Leo XIV called out these remarks during a Palm Sunday Homily saying, “God: Jesus, King of Peace, who rejects war, whom no one can use to justify war … He does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war, but rejects them, saying: ‘Even though you make many prayers, I will not listen: your hands are full of blood.’” The Pontiff’s remarks stand in stark contrast to Hegseth’s prayer for holy destruction of his enemies, drawing a clear line in the sand between the militarism of the Trump administration and the Catholic Church, a line that the administration has already forced itself across. 

Some may retort that the administration has yet to explicitly describe the war as a holy war against the Islamists of Iran. To that, my response is that the Trump Administration is not stupid, they know what they are doing. A substantial portion of the Make America Great Again movement comes from the conservative Christian crowd, many of whom are also Christian Zionists, a group that believes the modern state of Israel is the fulfillment of Biblical prophecy. This group views the wars between Israel and its Muslim neighbors like Palestine and Iran in a religious context. To them, standing against the Israeli war machine is to stand against God. The Trump Administration knows that this group will see the religious rhetoric of Hegseth and other government officials and throw their support behind an alleged Christian war.  

This rise in religious war rhetoric has been brewing in this country since 9/11 and the War on Terror that followed. Conservatives of the Bush Administration did not shy away from personifying the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq as holy wars against Islam. The rise of the Christian nationalist movement and Israel’s framing of its genocidal war in Palestine and other wars in places like Lebanon as religious conflicts has only furthered the prevalence of religious militarism.  

The War in Iran is the ultimate fulfillment of the Christian nationalist ideal, a holy war against who they perceive as the ultimate enemy, the unbelieving Muslims of the world. With many Christian nationalists like Hegseth in positions of power in the government, this narrative will only become increasingly popular as time goes on. Soon, we will see the rise of a Christianity where the most popular places for a cross are atop a church and on a bomb hurdling down towards it.