It might’ve started with President Trump’s visit to Liberty University as a then-candidate for the Republican presidential primary back in 2016, when he uttered the phrase “Two Corinthians” in reference to “Second Corinthians.”
Maybe it was near the end of his first term, when protesters in front of St. John’s Church in Lafayette Square were tear-gassed to make way for Trump, who then held a Bible aloft for a photo op outside the church.
Or it could’ve been when the president posted an AI-generated image of himself from his X account that appeared to conflate him with Jesus Christ. Trump claimed the photo was meant to depict him as a physician, and he later deleted it.
Regardless, it’s clear the president isn’t afraid to continue pushing the envelope when it comes to mixing politics and religion. His actions may reflect the conservative evangelical brand of religion that many members of Trump’s administration publicly ascribe to.
War turns religious
Most notably, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has frequently invoked religious rhetoric as motivation for U.S. military campaigns and to attack members of the press. Earlier this month, Hegseth compared what he called “the legacy Trump-hating press” to the Pharisees, the biblical group that contradicted Jesus’s teachings.
It’s no secret, either, that Hegseth hosts monthly prayer services in the Pentagon. He recently read out a prayer from an air rescue group that heavily leaned on a modified version of bible verse Ezekiel 25:17 from the film “Pulp Fiction.” In late March, another prayer included Hegseth’s wish for “overwhelming violence of action against those who deserve no mercy.”
In the midst of the U.S.’s war with Iran, Hegseth’s political rhetoric squares his brand of Christianity off with Iran’s dominant Islamic theocracy. It might come as no surprise to those familiar with Hegseth’s 2020 book “American Crusade,” which frequently villainizes Islam and features a chapter entitled “Make the Crusade Great Again.”
Religion turns warlike
What may be more striking than any of the administration’s previous religious ties is Trump’s ongoing public clash with Pope Leo XIV, the Catholic Church’s first American leader. Leo has repeatedly criticized the Trump administration’s involvement in the Iran war. Last week, Leo emphasized that he had “no fear” of the administration and set an imperative to “promote a new attitude and a culture of peace.”
It was one of the Pope’s first public mentions of Trump or his administration directly after several fiery attacks from the president; earlier this month, Trump called Leo “too liberal” and “weak on crime” in a lengthy post to Truth Social.
Trump has long been a figure of criticism for Catholic leaders worldwide over his policies on immigration. But his consistent and brash criticisms of the Church are alarming to some observers, even when accounting for his first term.
Trump’s repeated religious boundary-pushing even led to what appeared to be a rare piece of commentary from Senate Chaplain Dr. Barry C. Black in his morning prayer last week: “Lord, forgive us when we fail to make an adequate response to the flagrant disrespect of Your sovereignty. Forgive us for our reluctance to speak in defense of Your Majesty,” Black prayed. “Remind us that there are certain lines we should never cross.”