A controversial Moscow, Idaho-based religious network has gained national attention in a recent analysis of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s church affiliations, published in The Conversation.
Brief by FāVS News Staff
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s membership in a church affiliated with the Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches has sparked fresh attention following a Pentagon prayer session where he and his pastor praised President Donald Trump as divinely appointed.
The CREC, co-founded in 1998* by Moscow, Idaho, pastor Doug Wilson and others, operates as a network of more than 130 churches worldwide that espouse Christian nationalist views and oppose the separation of church and state. While Wilson is not Hegseth’s pastor, he remains the most influential voice in the denomination and has spoken approvingly of the defense secretary.
The network extends beyond churches to include Logos Schools, Canon Press and New Saint Andrews College — all Wilson-founded institutions based in Moscow that promote what they call “classical Christian education” designed to “raise faithful, dangerous Christian kids who impact the world for Christ.”
CREC theology holds that only Christians should hold political office in the United States and that secular society represents an enemy to be conquered. The denomination adheres to highly patriarchal interpretations of Scripture and has drawn controversy over Wilson’s past writings defending slavery and allegations of sexual abuse within church communities.
Hegseth’s recent actions as defense secretary — including banning transgender people from military service and removing gay activist Harvey Milk’s name from a Navy ship — have brought additional focus to his CREC connections.
The denomination’s influence extends through its educational network, with Logos schools enrolling more than 2,000 students across 16 countries and the Association of Classical Christian Schools claiming 500 affiliated schools with 50,000 students.
Read more about the CREC’s structure and influence at The Conversation.
*The Conversation said CREC was founded in 1993, when it was actually founded in 1998, according to the denomination’s website. In 1993, Doug Wilson founded the Association of Classical Christian Schools as an accrediting body for like-minded schools.
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