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By Holly Meyer and David Crary |
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By Holly Meyer and David Crary |
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Greetings, World of Faith readers.
This week, we look at Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s evangelical Christian messaging. American Jews are facing a surge in attacks and growing rifts over Israel’s policies, and Christian-Muslim relations are expected to be addressed during the pope’s upcoming trip to Africa. |
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks at the Shield of the Americas Summit in Doral, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell) |
Pete Hegseth’s Christian rhetoric draws renewed scrutiny after the US goes to war with Iran |
Since becoming defense secretary, Pete Hegseth has found no shortage of ways to bring his strand of conservative evangelicalism into the Pentagon. From employee worship services to speeches and interviews, the defense secretary’s Christian rhetoric has taken on new meaning after the U.S. and Israel went to war with Iran, an Islamic theocracy. Read more.
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Hegseth has a history of defending the Crusades, the brutal medieval wars that pitted Christians against Muslims. In his 2020 book “American Crusade,” he wrote that those who enjoy Western civilization should “thank a crusader.” Two of his tattoos draw from crusader imagery.
The defense secretary also has questioned Muslim immigration to the U.S. In his book, Hegseth lamented growing Muslim birth rates and that Muhammad was a popular boys’ name in the U.S.
Hegseth has pledged to reform the military’s chaplain corps, which provides spiritual care to troops of any faith and no faith at all. He scrapped the 2025 U.S. Army Spiritual Fitness Guide and wants to renew chaplains’ religious focus.
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US Jews grapple with a surge in attacks and bitter rifts over Israeli policies |
For many U.S. Jews, following current events these days can be emotionally tumultuous. Simultaneously, there is widely shared anger at the upsurge of attacks targeting their communities, and deep divisions within those communities over whether to support or oppose various policies and actions by Israel in the conflict-wracked Middle East. Read more.
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Just last week, there was unified condemnation of the attack by a man who drove his pickup truck into a Detroit-area synagogue where more than 100 children were attending a preschool program. The driver, who had lost family members during an Israeli airstrike in Lebanon, exchanged gunfire with a guard before killing himself.
Several Jewish leaders — while sometimes critical of Israeli government policies — say it’s wrong to hold American Jews accountable for the actions of a foreign government. One critic of Israeli policies, author and commentator Peter Beinart, joined in condemning the Michigan attack, but urged synagogues not to display “We stand with Israel” signs.
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Pope’s upcoming Africa odyssey takes him to a mosque, a prison and the site of a deadly 2021 blast |
The Vatican released details of Pope Leo XIV’s upcoming four-nation Africa tour, suggesting Christian-Muslim relations, comforting victims of violence and encouraging the Catholic community in former European colonies will be key themes. The trip is scheduled for April. 13-23. Read more.
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The trip begins in Algeria, which has never welcomed a pope. It includes a visit to the Great Mosque in Algiers as well as a meeting with Leo’s fellow Augustinians in the place most associated with St. Augustine of Hippo, the 5th-century inspiration for their religious order.
Leo will preside over a peace meeting in northwest Cameroon, visit an important Marian shrine in Angola and pray at a memorial to victims of a 2021 blast in Equatorial Guinea that killed more than 100 people and was blamed on negligence.
All the while, he’ll meet with local bishops, celebrate Masses for the faithful and have private talks with the four nations’ leaders, two of whom have been in power for decades.
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