The Guardian Headline Full font family includes several styles, each with different weights and italics. The light version (weight 300) comes in both regular and italic styles, as does the regular version (weight 400). The medium (weight 500) and semibold (weight 600) styles also have regular and italic variants. Each font file is available in WOFF2, WOFF, and TrueType formats, hosted on the Guardian’s servers.@font-face {
font-family: Guardian Headline Full;
src: url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/full-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Bold.woff2) format(“woff2”),
url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/full-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Bold.woff) format(“woff”),
url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/full-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Bold.ttf) format(“truetype”);
font-weight: 700;
font-style: normal;
}
@font-face {
font-family: Guardian Headline Full;
src: url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/full-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-BoldItalic.woff2) format(“woff2”),
url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/full-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-BoldItalic.woff) format(“woff”),
url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/full-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-BoldItalic.ttf) format(“truetype”);
font-weight: 700;
font-style: italic;
}
@font-face {
font-family: Guardian Headline Full;
src: url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/full-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Black.woff2) format(“woff2”),
url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/full-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Black.woff) format(“woff”),
url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/full-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Black.ttf) format(“truetype”);
font-weight: 900;
font-style: normal;
}
@font-face {
font-family: Guardian Headline Full;
src: url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/full-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-BlackItalic.woff2) format(“woff2”),
url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/full-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-BlackItalic.woff) format(“woff”),
url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/full-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-BlackItalic.ttf) format(“truetype”);
font-weight: 900;
font-style: italic;
}
@font-face {
font-family: Guardian Titlepiece;
src: url(https://interactive.guim.co.uk/fonts/garnett/GTGuardianTitlepiece-Bold.woff2) format(“woff2”),
url(https://interactive.guim.co.uk/fonts/garnett/GTGuardianTitlepiece-Bold.woff) format(“woff”),
url(https://interactive.guim.co.uk/fonts/garnett/GTGuardianTitlepiece-Bold.ttf) format(“truetype”);
font-weight: 700;
font-style: normal;
}
@media (min-width: 71.25em) {
.content__main-column–interactive {
margin-left: 160px;
}
}
@media (min-width: 81.25em) {
.content__main-column–interactive {
margin-left: 240px;
}
}
.content__main-column–interactive .element-atom {
max-width: 620px;
}
@media (max-width: 46.24em) {
.content__main-column–interactive .element-atom {
max-width: 100%;
}
}
.content__main-column–interactive .element-showcase {
margin-left: 0;
}
@media (min-width: 46.25em) {
.content__main-column–interactive .element-showcase {
max-width: 620px;
}
}
@media (min-width: 71.25em) {
.content__main-column–interactive .element-showcase {
max-width: 860px;
}
}
.content__main-column–interactive .element-immersive {
max-width: 1100px;
}
@media (max-width: 46.24em) {
.content__main-column–interactive .element-immersive {
width: calc(100vw – var(–scrollbar-width, 0px));
position: relative;
left: 50%;
right: 50%;
margin-left: calc(-50vw + var(–half-scrollbar-width, 0px)) !important;
margin-right: calc(-50vw + var(–half-scrollbar-width, 0px)) !important;
}
}
@media (min-width: 46.25em) {
.content__main-column–interactive .element-immersive {
transform: translate(-20px);
width: calc(100% + 60px);
}
}
@media (max-width: 71.24em) {
.content__main-column–interactive .element-immersive {
margin-left: 0;
margin-right: 0;
}
}
@media (min-width: 71.25em) {
.content__main-column–interactive .element-immersive {
transform: translate(0);
width: auto;
}
}
@media (min-width: 81.25em) {
.content__main-column–interactive .element-immersive {
max-width: 1260px;
}
}
.content__main-column–interactive p,
.content__main-column–interactive ul {
max-width: 620px;
}
.content__main-column–interactive:before {
position: absolute;
top: 0;
height: calc(100% + 15px);
min-height: 100px;
content: “”;
}
@media (min-width: 71.25em) {
.content__main-column–interactive:before {
border-left: 1px solid #dcdcdc;
z-index: -1;
left: -10px;
}
}
@media (min-width: 81.25em) {
.content__main-column–interactive:before {
border-left: 1px solid #dcdcdc;
}
}The main interactive content column has specific styling for elements. Elements within this column have no top or bottom margin but include padding. When a paragraph follows an element, the spacing adjusts accordingly. Inline elements are limited to a maximum width of 620px.
For larger screens, inline figures are also constrained to 620px. Video elements with looping functionality have custom button styling and caption positioning. Self-hosted videos are set to a width of 100% with a maximum width of 620px, and they include top and bottom margins. Immersive video elements expand to full width without margins on larger screens.
Color variables define various theme elements, such as dateline, header borders, captions, and feature colors. These adapt for dark mode preferences. Additional rules manage the spacing and styling of the first paragraph following specific elements, including drop caps for the initial letter.The CSS code sets styles for drop caps, pullquotes, and immersive elements across different sections of a website. Drop caps are styled with a specific font, size, and color, and are floated to the left. Pullquotes are given a maximum width. For immersive elements, the width adjusts to the viewport, with specific maximum widths and caption padding at different screen sizes. On larger screens, a grid layout is used for the furniture wrapper, which includes a top border for the headline and positions the meta section.The provided text appears to be a block of CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) code, not standard English prose. Therefore, it cannot be rewritten into “fluent, natural English” as it is a technical language for defining website styles.
To make it more understandable, here is a plain English description of what this CSS code seems to be doing:
This CSS styles a webpage layout, likely for a news article. It defines rules for different screen sizes (like desktop, tablet, and mobile). The code controls the positioning, spacing, fonts, colors, and borders of elements such as the headline, summary text, author information, and images. For example, it sets the headline font size, adds underline effects to links in the summary, creates a grid-based layout for larger screens, and hides or shows decorative lines depending on the device.This CSS code defines styles for a webpage layout, particularly for a furniture-themed wrapper. It sets various properties for elements like meta information, standfirst text, main media, and captions. The styles include adjustments for margins, padding, colors, and positioning, with specific rules for different screen sizes using media queries. The design uses custom CSS variables for colors, such as `–darkBackground` and `–headerBorderColor`, and ensures elements are hidden or displayed based on viewport width. Overall, it creates a responsive layout that adapts to devices from mobile to desktop.The CSS code defines styles for a furniture-wrapper class. Headline h1 elements are bold and light gray. Figures within headlines have no top margin and a small bottom margin. On larger screens, meta sections have a colored border.
Text in meta sections is light gray, with social media links having colored borders and icons. Hovering over these links changes the background and text colors. Links in meta sections are colored and change on hover.
Standfirst links are underlined with a specific color and lose their underline on hover. Paragraphs in standfirst are light gray, with the first paragraph having a top border on medium screens, which is removed on larger screens. List items in standfirst are also light gray. On large screens, standfirst sections have a colored border.
On medium screens, the furniture-wrapper has a dark background and a right border.The CSS defines styles for a layout wrapper, adjusting its width and positioning based on viewport size. It sets borders and background colors using custom properties, and includes specific styles for headings and social elements. Font faces for the Guardian Headline font family are also declared, with various weights and styles.@font-face {
font-family: Guardian Headline Full;
src: url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/full-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Regular.woff2) format(“woff2”),
url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/full-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Regular.woff) format(“woff”),
url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/full-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Regular.ttf) format(“truetype”);
font-weight: 400;
font-style: normal;
}
@font-face {
font-family: Guardian Headline Full;
src: url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/full-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-RegularItalic.woff2) format(“woff2”),
url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/full-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-RegularItalic.woff) format(“woff”),
url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/full-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-RegularItalic.ttf) format(“truetype”);
font-weight: 400;
font-style: italic;
}
@font-face {
font-family: Guardian Headline Full;
src: url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/full-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Medium.woff2) format(“woff2”),
url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/full-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Medium.woff) format(“woff”),
url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/full-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Medium.ttf) format(“truetype”);
font-weight: 500;
font-style: normal;
}
@font-face {
font-family: Guardian Headline Full;
src: url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/full-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-MediumItalic.woff2) format(“woff2”),
url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/full-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-MediumItalic.woff) format(“woff”),
url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/full-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-MediumItalic.ttf) format(“truetype”);
font-weight: 500;
font-style: italic;
}
@font-face {
font-family: Guardian Headline Full;
src: url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/full-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Semibold.woff2) format(“woff2”),
url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/full-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Semibold.woff) format(“woff”),
url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/full-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Semibold.ttf) format(“truetype”);
font-weight: 600;
font-style: normal;
}
@font-face {
font-family: Guardian Headline Full;
src: url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/full-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-SemiboldItalic.woff2) format(“woff2”),
url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/full-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-SemiboldItalic.woff) format(“woff”),
url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/full-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-SemiboldItalic.ttf) format(“truetype”);
font-weight: 600;
font-style: italic;
}
@font-face {
font-family: Guardian Headline Full;
src: url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/full-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Bold.woff2) format(“woff2”),
url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/full-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Bold.woff) format(“woff”),
url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/full-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Bold.ttf) format(“truetype”);
font-weight: 700;
font-style: normal;
}
@font-face {
font-family: Guardian Headline Full;
src: url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/full-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-BoldItalic.woff2) format(“woff2”),
url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/full-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-BoldItalic.woff) format(“woff”),
url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/full-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-BoldItalic.ttf) format(“truetype”);
font-weight: 700;
font-style: italic;
}
@font-face {
font-family: Guardian Headline Full;
src: url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/full-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Black.woff2) format(“woff2”),
url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/full-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Black.woff) format(“woff”),
url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/full-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Black.ttf) format(“truetype”);
font-weight: 900;
font-style: normal;
}
@font-face {
font-family: Guardian Headline Full;
src: url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/full-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-BlackItalic.woff2) format(“woff2”),
url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/full-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-BlackItalic.woff) format(“woff”),
url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/full-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-BlackItalic.ttf) format(“truetype”);
font-weight: 900;
font-style: italic;
}
@font-face {
font-family: Guardian Titlepiece;
src: url(https://interThe font file GTGuardianTitlepiece-Bold is available in woff2, woff, and truetype formats with a font weight of 700 and normal style. For iOS and Android devices, the root element defines a dark background color and feature colors, with a new pillar color variable that adjusts in dark mode. On iOS and Android, the first letter of the first paragraph in specific article containers is styled with a secondary pillar color. The article header height is set to zero, and the furniture wrapper has padding with styled labels and headlines using specific fonts and colors.For Android devices, the headline in standard and comment article containers is styled with a 32px font size, bold weight, 12px bottom padding, and a dark gray color.
On both iOS and Android, images within feature, standard, and comment article containers are positioned relatively, have a top margin of 14px, a left offset of -10px, and a width equal to the full viewport minus the scrollbar.
For these same containers and devices, the inner elements of images (like the figure container, image tag, and link) have a transparent background and a width matching the full viewport minus the scrollbar.
The standfirst section in these containers on both iOS and Android has a top padding of 4px, bottom padding of 24px, and a right margin of -10px.
Within the standfirst section, paragraph text uses the Guardian Headline font family or similar serif fonts.
Links within the standfirst section, including those in list items, are also styled accordingly.For Android devices, links in article introductions are styled with a specific color, underlined, and have no background image. On iOS and Android, when hovering over these links, the underline color changes. The margin for article metadata is removed, and author names and related elements are set to a specific color.For iOS and Android devices, the meta information within furniture wrappers across feature, standard, and comment article containers should have no padding.
For these same containers and devices, the SVG icons within that meta information should use the new pillar color for their stroke.
The caption button within showcase elements should be displayed as a flex container, centered with 5px padding, 28px in both width and height, and positioned 14px from the right.
The main article body should have 12px of horizontal padding and no vertical padding.
Standard image figures (excluding thumbnails and immersive styles) should have no margin. Their width should be the full viewport width minus 24px and any scrollbar width, with an automatic height. Their captions should have no padding.
Immersive image figures should span the full viewport width, accounting for any scrollbar.
Within the article body prose, blockquotes marked as “quoted” should have specific styling applied before the content.This CSS code sets styles for quoted text and links within article bodies on iOS and Android devices. It defines colors, underlines, and hover effects for links, and adjusts the appearance of quoted text. In dark mode, it changes background colors and text colors for various article elements like headlines, labels, and author bylines to ensure readability and visual consistency.This CSS code sets styles for different article containers on Android and iOS. It defines colors for author bylines, stroke colors for SVG icons, caption colors for showcase images, and colors for quoted text. It also sets a dark background for various body content areas and styles the first letter after specific elements.This appears to be a CSS selector targeting the first letter of paragraphs in specific article containers on iOS and Android devices. The selector applies to various article types (feature, standard, comment) and different content sections within them, following specific HTML elements like `.element-atom`, `.sign-in-gate`, or `#sign-in-gate`.This appears to be a CSS selector targeting the first letter of paragraphs in specific containers on Android devices. It applies to various article containers and body sections, including feature articles, standard articles, and comment articles. The selector accounts for different layouts and elements like sign-in gates and interactive content.For Android devices, the first letter of a paragraph following a sign-in gate in the comment body will be set to a specific color. On both iOS and Android, the standfirst text in comment articles has adjusted padding and no top margin. Headings at level two are set to 24 pixels in size.
Caption buttons have different padding on iOS and Android. In dark mode, various text and icon colors are defined for a better visual experience, and a dark background color is set.
Article headers are hidden on both iOS and Android, while furniture wrappers have no margin. Labels within these wrappers use a specific color variable. Headlines are set to a light gray color, and links within article headers or title sections use another color variable. Meta sections have a defined style for their preceding content.For iOS and Android devices, the meta section in feature, standard, and comment article containers has specific styling. A repeating linear gradient is applied as a background before the meta element, using the header border color. The byline text within the meta section is set to a light gray color (#dcdcdc). Links inside the meta section use a CSS variable for color, defaulting to a dark mode feature color. SVG icons within the meta’s miscellaneous section have their stroke color defined by the same CSS variable. Additionally, alert labels in the meta section follow these styling rules.For iOS and Android devices, the alert labels in the meta section of feature, standard, and comment articles are set to a light gray color (#dcdcdc). Icons within the meta section of these articles will use a specific color variable (–new-pillar-colour, with a fallback to –darkModeFeature). The same color variable is applied to these icons when using a pseudo-element.
On larger screens (71.25em and above), the meta section in these articles will be displayed as a block with a top border. The border color uses the same color variable (–new-pillar-colour, with a fallback to –headerBorderColor).For iOS and Android devices, the meta information in article containers has its margin reset with a left margin of 20px. Paragraphs and unordered lists within article bodies are set to a maximum width of 620px.
Quoted blockquotes use the secondary pillar color for their decorative elements, while links are styled with the primary pillar color, featuring an underline with a light gray color and an offset. On hover, the underline changes to the secondary pillar color, with no background image.
In dark mode, both the blockquote decorations and link colors switch to the dark mode pillar color.Nine months and six days before a Tomahawk missile tore through the brightly decorated classrooms of the Shajareh Tayyebeh elementary school in Minab, Iran, killing schoolchildren, teachers, and parents, the personal pastor of U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth delivered a sermon at the Pentagon.
“There’s a temptation to think that you’re actually in control and responsible for final outcomes, especially for those who issue the commands and do the aiming and the shooting,” preached Brooks Potteiger, Hegseth’s closest spiritual adviser, at the first of what have become monthly Christian worship services at the Department of Defense. “But you are not ultimately in charge of the world.”
Citing a verse from Matthew 10, Potteiger told the gathered leaders of the U.S. military: “If our Lord is sovereign even over the sparrow’s fallings, you can be assured that he is sovereign over everything else that falls in this world, including Tomahawk and Minuteman missiles … Jesus has the final say over all of it.”
Available evidence and a preliminary U.S. military investigation suggest the U.S. was responsible for the February 28 school bombing that killed more than 175 people, most of them children. Yet neither Donald Trump nor Hegseth has taken responsibility or expressed remorse.
Instead, Hegseth has framed the war in Iran—which reached a temporary ceasefire on Tuesday after six weeks of fighting—as divinely sanctioned. He repeatedly invokes “God’s almighty providence” and expresses certainty that God is on the side of the U.S. military. Amid boasts of superior U.S. firepower and theatrical disdain for “stupid rules of engagement,” the defense secretary has promised to give “no quarter” to the “barbaric savages” of the Iranian regime and called on Americans to pray for victory “in the name of Jesus Christ.”
Hegseth’s blend of piety and bloodlust was most visible at the March 25 worship service at the Pentagon, the first since the war in Iran began, when he prayed for “overwhelming violence of action against those who deserve no mercy.” The prayer was so shocking it appears to have drawn a rebuke from Pope Leo, who preached on Palm Sunday that God ignores the prayers of those whose “hands are full of blood” from making war.
Hegseth is unlikely to mind criticism from the head of the Catholic Church. The 45-year-old U.S. Army veteran and former Fox News host belongs to an obscure, deeply Calvinist wing of evangelical Christianity—John Calvin broke from the Catholic Church during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation—that rejects the pope’s authority and is rooted in a belief in predestination.
“They believe…””They believe that nothing happens that isn’t in God’s will,” said Julie Ingersoll, a professor of religious studies at the University of North Florida, who researches this branch of Reformed Christianity. “They believe that God directs everything that happens.”
Even a bomb falling on an elementary school full of children?
“If God would order a genocide in Deuteronomy 20,” Ingersoll said, citing a passage in which God instructs the Israelites to “destroy every living thing” in certain cities, “what makes you think he wouldn’t cause a girl’s school to be attacked?”
The Iran hawks in the U.S. foreign policy establishment have never lacked material or geopolitical justifications for wanting to go to war. But the sheer recklessness of how this war is being waged raises questions about what other factors may be at play. The U.S. has long managed to pursue its interests in the Middle East without bombing Tehran. The entirely predictable consequences—deadly attacks on U.S. bases and allies, global economic fallout from the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, and the consolidation of power by the Iranian regime—serve as an object lesson in why restraint prevailed for 47 years.
Why take such a risk now? Could the bellicose, belligerent Pete Hegseth—with his Crusader tattoos, his disdain for diplomacy, and his evident taste for violent domination—have convinced Trump to start a war to complete the unfinished business of the Crusades?
On Monday, at a news conference touting the rescue of a crew member from a downed F-15 fighter jet in southern Iran, Hegseth once again invoked his religious beliefs to justify events as they unfolded. “Shot down on a Friday, Good Friday, hidden in a cave, a crevice, all of Saturday and rescued on Sunday,” he said. “Flown out of Iran as the sun was rising on Easter Sunday, a pilot reborn.”
It’s not exactly the Son of God dying for humanity’s sins, but it at least put a positive spin on some inconvenient facts: a fighter jet felled weeks after Hegseth claimed the U.S. had achieved “total air dominance”; a rescue mission that resulted in the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars in military aircraft; all within a war where the U.S. appears headed for a straightforward strategic defeat.
“Deus Vult,” reads the tattoo inked across Hegseth’s right biceps. It’s a Latin phrase meaning “God wills it,” believed to have been chanted by Christian warriors responding to Pope Urban II’s call in 1095 to march to the Holy Land and reconquer it for Christendom. As the American and Iranian people remain trapped in this deeply unpopular war, it’s vital to understand what “God wills it” means to Hegseth, and what that might mean for the rest of us.
Hegseth has described his early life as having “a Christian veneer but a secular core.” Born and raised in Minnesota, he pursued officer training at Princeton and served multiple tours in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Guantánamo Bay. (A longtime reservist, he left the service in 2021 after fellow service members reported him for his Crusader tattoos, which have been associated with white supremacist and extremist groups.)
He was elevated to leadership roles at two different veterans’ advocacy groups, only to be forced out over what The New Yorker called “serious allegations of financial mismanagement, sexual impropriety, and personal misconduct.” Twice divorced due to infidelity, he is now raising seven children with his third wife, whom he married in 2019. He paid $50,000 to a woman who accused him ofPete Hegseth, a co-host of Fox & Friends, was accused of rape in 2017, an allegation he denies. In April 2017, he interviewed Donald Trump at the White House.
Hegseth joined Fox News as a host in 2016. His polished appearance and aggressive advocacy for presidential pardons for convicted war criminals drew Trump’s attention.
His turn toward religion started in 2018 after he and his wife joined an evangelical church in New Jersey, where he said “faith became real.” Already a vocal participant in right-wing culture wars against public secular education, he co-wrote a 2022 book arguing that “Western civilization” depends on bringing Christianity back into American schools. His co-author, David Goodwin, was a leader in the “classical Christian education” (CCE) movement, and Hegseth embraced it enthusiastically, calling the writing process a “red pill” experience.
Following Goodwin’s advice, Hegseth moved his family to Nashville, Tennessee, to enroll his children in a CCE school. “We thought we were moving to a school, but we moved to a church and a community and a whole view of the world that has changed the way we think too,” he said.
That church was Pilgrim Hill Reformed Fellowship, led by Pastor Potteiger, who later preached at the Pentagon about Tomahawk missiles. Hegseth’s involvement with the church is deep. According to Julie Ingersoll, it’s not a church where you simply attend Sunday service; it’s part of the Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches (CREC), which has a “strong hierarchy” where elders hold significant power over members, including through a church court that can excommunicate and shun people.
To join, Hegseth likely had to attend a session with the church elders, profess his faith, and agree to covenants, committing to submit to the elders for church discipline. This means being accountable to them for his actions and beliefs.
This is concerning for someone in a leadership role in a government based on the separation of church and state. Ingersoll notes that CREC members “don’t embrace democracy particularly” and reject social equality, believing God ordained some people to rule over others. They do not believe legitimate government authority comes from the consent of the governed, but directly from God.
This worldview, adopted by Hegseth after joining Pilgrim Hill, was shaped by Douglas Wilson, a 72-year-old pastor who has spent decades trying to establish a “theocracy” in Moscow, Idaho. Religion runs in Wilson’s family; his father, a retired naval officer and evangelist, moved to Idaho in the 1970s to open a Christian bookstore. Both Wilson and his brother…Evan followed and found himself drawn into the somewhat hippy “Jesus People” movement of the 1970s. The brothers began studying theology together and helped found a church, but they had a falling out when Doug became interested in Calvinism, and Evan couldn’t give up his belief in free will. (Calvinists are a very small minority within Protestantism.)
After Evan left the church—the brothers remain estranged—Doug continued exploring niche theological movements, taking a particular interest in a fundamentalist Calvinist movement that seeks to establish “theonomy,” a form of Christian governance. His fiefdom in Idaho now includes about 3,000 people across three churches, and his followers—known as “kirkers”—are increasingly flexing their muscle in local politics and land-use disputes. The CREC has grown to 150 churches worldwide. Meanwhile, Wilson built a business empire promoting Classical Christian Education books, schools, and homeschooling materials, expanding his influence in the more mainstream evangelical world.
Wilson’s views are extreme, even for the Christian right. A staunch proponent of “biblical patriarchy,” he advocates for wives to submit to their husbands, for parents to inflict “painful” discipline on children, and for boys to be taught the “theology of fist fighting.”
He opposes women’s right to vote and does not oppose the death penalty for homosexuality. He describes himself as a Christian nationalist and wants “to take over the world for Christ,” Ingersoll said. “The whole world is going to become Christian, and that version of civilization is filled with all kinds of really powerful, strong punishments for people who don’t agree or go along.”
His praise of the Christian governance of the Confederate States of America has led some critics to call him a neo-Confederate, but he prefers the term “paleo-Confederate.” In 1996, he co-authored an apologia for the antebellum South that characterized slavery as “a relationship based upon mutual affection and confidence” and abolitionists as being “driven by a zealous hatred of the Word of God.” The book was withdrawn over allegations of plagiarism, but Wilson returned to the topic in 2005’s Black and Tan, arguing that Southern slavery was “far more humane than that of ancient Rome” and that Southern Christian enslavers were “on firm scriptural ground.”
But where Wilson’s ideas were once on the fringe of right-wing evangelicalism in the U.S., recent decades have seen a change.
In the aftermath of World War II, a culture of militant masculinity developed among white evangelicals in the U.S., according to historian Kristin Kobes Du Mez. A professor at Calvin University who frequently comments on Hegseth, Du Mez traced the emergence of this strain of evangelicalism in her 2020 book Jesus and John Wayne.
Whereas in the 19th century, the ideal of “Christian manhood” would have focused on virtues such as honor, dignity, and gentlemanliness, by the early 21st century, the ideal evangelical man had morphed into something that looks a lot more like Hegseth.
“You could not get a better embodiment of that ideology, that particularly militaristic conception of Christianity and ends-justifies-the-means mentality that baptizes violence and cruelty in the name of righteousness,” said Du Mez.
Du Mez argues that the transformation of the evangelical masculine ideal grew out of a sense of embattlement. Facing threats to their status from feminism, the civil rights movement, the Vietnam War, and broad economic shifts, evangelicals invested psychically in a kind of chauvinistic religiosity that allowed them to reassert their dominance, at least in their own view.At least within the home, cheerleading the Cold War and post-9/11 wars in the Middle East provided another realm to act out these fantasies of domination, usually without needing to get their own hands dirty. “Any enemies of America—foreign or domestic—and any enemies of their particular agenda are also enemies of God,” said Du Mez.
The perverse moral consequences of combining militant masculinity with religious certainty can be seen in how this movement consistently supported the most questionable uses of American military power. During World War II, Du Mez writes, white evangelicals defended the firebombing of German cities. During the Vietnam War, they rallied behind the perpetrators of the My Lai massacre. And during the global “war on terror,” they were the Americans most likely to support torturing prisoners.
As evangelical culture shifted in his direction, Wilson became less of a pariah. He built ties with more respectable leaders and showed a knack for generating attention and publicity. In recent years, he has been featured on Tucker Carlson’s podcast and shared a stage with Southern Baptist Convention leader Albert Mohler.
Wilson’s greatest coup has been recruiting Hegseth through Potteiger. The attention has expanded Wilson’s access to platforms like the New York Times, and he appears intent on maintaining influence: since Hegseth was named Secretary of Defense, Wilson has announced that Potteiger will move to Washington, D.C., to establish a new CREC church for Hegseth to attend.
Wilson does not seem particularly interested in the day-to-day minutiae of governance or war-fighting. When he was invited to preach at the Pentagon on February 17, his sermon largely stayed above the fray, though he mused about whether the invitation itself could be a sign of “a black swan reformation”—an unexpected revival of Christianity in the U.S.
For his part, Hegseth has shown an unprecedented willingness to incorporate his personal beliefs into the official workings of the Department of Defense.
To Du Mez, Hegseth’s role atop the Pentagon—and his apparent enthusiasm for starting conflicts—is alarming. “For a long time, a lot of this seemed like bluster,” said Du Mez, noting that leading figures of the militant masculinity movement, such as Billy Graham, Ronald Reagan, and John Wayne, tended not to have actually served in the U.S. military themselves. But with Hegseth, “you have the bluster, you have the rhetoric, you have that underlying ideology, and he’s been handed the reins of power,” Du Mez said. “What we’re living through now is seeing what happens when this ideology becomes national policy.”
With Hegseth, that doesn’t just mean waging war abroad, much as he seems to enjoy it. It means attempting to fulfill Wilson’s vision of a world governed by biblical law—a global Christendom. For that, the first step is establishing Christendom at home.
When Hegseth tries to make the case that the U.S. is a Christian nation—something he does often—he likes to tell a story about the country’s first president, George Washington. “Just as George Washington knelt in the snow at Valley Forge, appealing to heaven for guidance and protection, so too our warriors do today,” he said at the National Prayer Breakfast on February 5.
“The problem with the story is that it didn’t happen,” said Brian Kaylor, editor-in-chief of the Baptist publication Word&Way, who has closely followed (and criticized) Hegseth’s promotion of Christian theology in the government. “It was made up decades after Washington’s death, by the same guy who made up the story about Washington cutting down the cherry tree.”
Nevertheless, it has been embraced by the Trump administration as a kind of founding myth.Here is an absurd alternate origin story for the United States, in which the country was founded not by deists who enshrined the separation of church and state in the Constitution, but by Christian patriarchs establishing a Christian nation.
As Kaylor pointed out, several of the original 13 colonies did have officially established religions. However, the founders chose not to replicate that system when drafting the new Constitution. Furthermore, the only references to religion in the document—found in Article VI and the First Amendment—actively protect the separation of church and state. They do this by prohibiting religious tests for public office, banning the establishment of a state religion, and safeguarding the right of individuals to worship as they choose.
“It’s the exact opposite of creating a Christian nation,” Kaylor said.
There have been periods in U.S. history when Christian nationalist ideas gained widespread acceptance. One such period was during the Confederate States of America, which conceived itself as a Christian nation, invoking “the favor and guidance of Almighty God” in its constitution. (The Southern Baptist Convention, now the largest evangelical denomination in the U.S., formed in 1845 when it split from northern Baptists to continue supporting slavery.) When Wilson calls himself a “paleo-Confederate,” he seems to be referring, at least in part, to his desire for an explicitly Christian government.
Another period was the justification for the genocide of American Indians. Early settlers often framed violent aggression against Native populations as bringing salvation to the “savages.” By the 19th century, this evolved into “manifest destiny,” the belief that white settlers were destined by God to conquer all of North America. The Trump administration’s promotion of John Gast’s painting American Progress—which depicts a robed white woman sweeping across the continent, bringing light and technology to dark and fearful natives—signaled a desire to revive this way of thinking.
Today, during another violent era in U.S. history, Christian nationalism maintains strong baseline support. According to a recent survey by the Public Religion Research Institute, about one in three Americans are either sympathetic to or strongly believe in the idea of the U.S. as a Christian nation. However, the movement’s real current strength comes from its access to power, as the potential second Trump administration is filled with Christian nationalists in leadership roles.
The contemporary Christian nationalist movement unites Christians from various denominations. Hegseth represents the Reformed/Calvinist wing, which differs from the charismatic evangelicalism of figures like White House “faith office” adviser Paula White-Cain. A third camp consists of Catholic Integralists, who seek to integrate church and state; adherents include Steve Bannon and Project 2025 architect Kevin Roberts.
While these groups may agree on domestic priorities—such as dismantling public education and using government policy to promote “traditional” family structures—foreign policy, especially regarding the Middle East, is more complicated.
As Ingersoll noted, Reformed evangelicals like Hegseth are post-millennialists. They believe it is the job of Christians to build the kingdom of God on Earth before Jesus’s return. Hegseth’s enthusiasm for the Crusades fits this sense of purpose; he might genuinely believe his mission is to re-establish Christendom across the Middle East, starting with Iran, to pave the way for Jesus’s return.
In contrast, premillennial dispensationalists, such as White-Cain and former U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, believe they must…Some Christians believe that current events in the Middle East are setting the stage for the end times, which would allow Jesus to return and establish the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth. These Christian Zionists see Jewish control over Israel as essential for fulfilling biblical prophecy, rather than seeking direct Christian control of the Holy Land today.
Despite these completely opposing visions for the region, the differences seem less important in practice. Both sides find religious reasons to support the war, and both use the conflict to argue that religion should play a role in state affairs.
Speaking about a ceasefire at the Pentagon, Hegseth said, “Our troops, our American warriors, deserve the credit for this day, but God deserves all the glory.” If the ceasefire holds, Hegseth may have to let go of any dreams of claiming new territory for Christianity, but that doesn’t mean he or his allies will see this as a defeat.
At the National Prayer Breakfast, after recounting a disputed story about George Washington praying, Hegseth echoed themes reminiscent of Pope Urban II, who launched the Crusades in 1095 by promising fighters the forgiveness of all their sins—a promise now viewed with controversy given the brutality of those wars.
Hegseth stated, “The willingness to make sacrifices on behalf of one’s country is born in one thing: a deep and abiding belief in God’s love for us and his promise of eternal life. The warrior who is willing to lay down his life for his unit, his country, and his Creator, that warrior finds eternal life.”
To journalist and Baptist minister Brian Kaylor, this was shocking. “This is not just Crusader theology but something that would be considered heretical in most of Christianity today,” he said. “It’s really dangerous and scary. It makes his comments about the religious fanaticism of Iran’s regime ironic at best, if not downright hypocritical.”
The Crusades, like the Confederacy, ended in defeat. Yet, like other “lost causes,” they continue to appeal to reactionary minds who dwell on grievances and find comfort in grand hypotheticals. Trump’s return to the White House was largely fueled by a culture of grievance over his 2020 election loss. Once back, he empowered Hegseth to restore Confederate names and statues to military bases.
With the war with Iran moving toward a resolution that leaves Iran stronger and the U.S. weakened both geopolitically and morally, another right-wing lost cause may be emerging. Some MAGA figures are already blaming Israel for U.S. strategic failures, while Trump has blamed NATO. Hegseth continues to purge military leaders and may point fingers at his usual targets, like “woke” generals or rules of engagement.
According to Ingersoll, Christian nationalist leaders think in terms of centuries and are achieving real success. The effort to abolish the Department of Education, ongoing since 1979, now seems close to succeeding. Similarly, after the Supreme Court legalized abortion in 1973, they fought for 50 years to overturn Roe v. Wade and are now targeting the Obergefell marriage equality ruling.
This long-term, patient strategy is why Ingersoll believes Christian nationalism is historically on the rise. “I’m not optimistic,” she said.
At this point, what comes next is hard to imagine.Last, there is no honest reckoning with the religious thinking that may have helped fuel the war in the first place. If you are waiting for Hegseth to admit that perhaps God was not on our side this time, do not hold your breath.
However, there is an American leader who did grapple with that question. In 1865, after four years of bloody civil war, the Confederacy was collapsing and victory was near. When Abraham Lincoln delivered his second inaugural address on March 4, he did not speak of the Union’s military superiority or claim God’s favor for the winning side. Instead, he acknowledged that both sides believed they were acting according to God’s will—and that he, as a man, could not know who was right.
“Both read the same Bible and pray to the same God, and each invokes His aid against the other,” he said of the two sides. “Let us judge not, that we be not judged. The prayers of both could not be answered. That of neither has been answered fully. The Almighty has His own purposes.”
Looking ahead, Lincoln foresaw not triumph or domination, but the slow, hard work of learning to live together again: “Let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation’s wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.”
In a year that will be filled with references to U.S. history because of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, let us also take a moment to remember that moment: the nation’s second founding. After the rupture, carnage, and emancipation of the Civil War, a leader was willing to say that we cannot know whose side God is really on—but that we owe it to ourselves and to one another to try to make peace anyway.
Frequently Asked Questions
Of course Here is a list of FAQs about Pete Hegseths Crusade The Militant Christian Theology Fueling US Aggression Toward Iran framed in a natural tone with direct answers
Beginner Definition Questions
1 What is this crusade people are talking about in relation to Pete Hegseth and Iran
It refers to the criticism that commentator Pete Hegseth uses language and a worldview influenced by a militant form of Christian theology that frames global conflict particularly with Iran as a spiritual battle between good and evil mirroring the historical religious Crusades
2 Who is Pete Hegseth
Pete Hegseth is a prominent American television commentator and author known for his roles on Fox News He is a former military officer and a vocal advocate for a robust often ideologicallydriven US foreign policy
3 What is Christian nationalism in this context
Its the belief that America is fundamentally a Christian nation and its laws identity and foreign policy should be explicitly advanced to protect and promote Christian values In foreign policy this can mean viewing rival nations through a theological lensas evil or Satanic powers
4 Is Hegseth actually calling for a holy war
Not explicitly Critics argue he uses theological framinglabeling Iran as an evil regime emphasizing its Islamic identity and casting US opposition as a moral and spiritual imperativewhich can make diplomatic engagement seem unnecessary and justify aggressive posturing
Advanced Analytical Questions
5 How does this theology specifically connect to Iran
Iran is framed as the modern embodiment of a biblical enemy Its Shia Islamic government is portrayed not just as a geopolitical rival but as a theological adversary in a cosmic struggle making conflict seem inevitable and righteous
6 Whats the difference between a normal hawkish policy and this militant theology
A standard hawkish policy is based on secular strategic interests like nuclear nonproliferation regional stability or counterterrorism The militant theology layer adds a nonnegotiable spiritual dimension the conflict is also about defeating evil which can dismiss pragmatic diplomacy as appeasement
