Christian Nationalists in Positions of Power Target Women's Voting Rights and Marriage Equality

by  Aubrey Weaver

Intern, The Ruth Collective

Pete Hegseth

In his role as Secretary of Defense , Pete Hegseth is using his considerable platform to advance an extremist Christian nationalist agenda that threatens fundamental rights for both women and LGBTQ+ Americans.

Recently, Hegseth has escalated his attacks, by publicly endorsing a pastor who called for stripping voting rights from women and recriminalizing same-sex relationships.

The most alarming development came when Hegseth reposted a video featuring an extremist pastor arguing that women's suffrage was "a historical mistake that corrupted God's natural order" (CNN, 2025). 

No Voice, No Vote, No Name

This same pastor, Doug Wilson, has growing popularity among conservative christian extremists, and also called for reinstating sodomy laws, stating that "the legalization of same-sex marriage represents society's moral collapse" (them., 2025). By amplifying these views, Hegseth isn't just expressing personal opinions - he's signaling which policies the Trump administration will likely pursue in its second term.

Even other Christian leaders are concerned. Mark Wingfield, executive director of Baptist News Global and former pastor with decades of experience in both ministry and faith journalism, addresses these exact tensions in his latest book Why Churches Need to Talk about Sexuality . Wingfield warned in Baptist News Global, "It's Pete Hegseth's theology that ought to concern us", a theology now being translated into policy through his powerful government position.

What makes this moment particularly dangerous is how these attacks on women's rights and LGBTQ+ rights form a coordinated Christian nationalist strategy. As reported by PBS NewsHour (2025), the archconservative church Hegseth attends promotes dominionism - the belief that Christians should control all aspects of government and society, and women in particular. 

This extremist movement doesn't believe in equality under the law. Their vision would eliminate reproductive rights, ban same-sex marriage, and restrict voting access - all while claiming divine justification. When the sitting SecDef platforms extremists who argue that "a woman's primary role is submission, not civic participation" (CNN, 2025), we must recognize these as serious policy threats rather than mere rhetoric.

The Trump administration's proposed Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act  represents one of the most direct threats to women's voting rights in decades. According to the League of Women Voters (2025), this legislation would create disproportionate barriers for nearly 69 million women voters - particularly those who changed their surnames after marriage - by requiring burdensome documentation like requiring names to match birth certificates for every registration update, or provide, expensive additional documentation such as a passport. For many women who will need to replace or renew this documentation, at a cost, this functionally becomes a poll tax. The League warns this is 'the most brazen, sweeping attack on American women's voting rights we have ever seen' (League of Women Voters, 2025), noting that similar requirements in New Hampshire have already caused chaos at polling places. While framed as preventing noncitizen voting (which is already illegal), the law appears designed to suppress legitimate voters - part of a broader Christian nationalist agenda to restrict participation in democracy.

The implications extend far beyond culture war debates. NPR (2025) reports that Hegseth has already supported legislation allowing states to challenge federal marriage protections, while The Guardian (2025) uncovered draft bills that would effectively permit discrimination against LGBTQ+ Americans. These aren't hypothetical scenarios, they're concrete steps toward dismantling civil rights that Christian nationalists have been planning for decades.

At The Ruth Collective, we recognize that the fights for women's autonomy and LGBTQ+ equality are interconnected battles against the same authoritarian movement. When government officials like Hegseth openly advocate stripping rights from marginalized communities while wrapping their agenda in religious language, they create a dangerous precedent for theocratic policymaking. We remain steadfast in our commitment to welcome and protect the rights of women and the LGBTQ+ community. 

As Pastor Wingfield (2024) cautioned, this isn't just about politics - it's about a theological worldview that seeks to redefine American democracy.

References

CNN. (2025, August 8). Defense Secretary shares video of pastor advocating against women's suffrage [Video]. CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2025/08/08/us/video/christian-nationalist-doug-wilson-women-pam-brown-vrtc

NPR. (2025, August 9). Hegseth's history of supporting voting restrictions. NPR. https://www.npr.org/2025/08/09/nx-s1-5497226/women-pastor-pete-hegseth-vote

PBS NewsHour. (2025). What to know about the archconservative church Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth attends. PBS. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/what-to-know-about-the-archconservative-church-defense-secretary-pete-hegseth-attends

Stewart, C. (2025, April 8). What is the SAVE Act? Trump's attempt to strip voting rights from women [Op-ed]. Teen Vogue. Reprinted by League of Women Voters. https://www.lwv.org/newsroom/news-clips/teen-vogue-op-ed-what-save-act-trump-admins-attempt-strip-voting-rights-women (Original work published 2025, April 8 at https://www.teenvogue.com/story/what-is-the-save-act-trump-voting-rights) 

them. (2025). Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth backs pastor calling for return of sodomy laws. https://www.them.us/story/defense-secretary-pete-hegseth-sodomy-laws-pastor-cnn-video

The Guardian. (2025, August 9). Hegseth-linked pastors draft bill to undermine federal same-sex marriage protections. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/aug/09/pete-hegseth-video-pastors-women-voting

Wingfield, M. (2024, November 26). It's Pete Hegseth's theology that ought to concern us. Baptist News Global. https://baptistnews.com/article/its-pete-hegseths-theology-that-ought-to-concern-us/