Douglas Wilson, a self-proclaimed Christian nationalist and the senior pastor of Christ Church, was introduced at the Pentagon last week by U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth. As a chosen speaker for Hegseth’s monthly Pentagon prayer services, which were established in May 2025, Wilson preached on Christian beliefs.
In 1977, Wilson and a group of fellow founders began the Moscow-based religious community of Christ Church. What began as a local chapter, one focused on emphasizing classical Christian education and a reformed theology, has since grown across the globe.
The expansion of Christ Church and its teachings occurred after the church joined the Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches in the late 1990’s, a larger religious organization whose aim is to follow historical reformed traditions through devout Protestantism.
Along with his previous involvement in the creation of Christ Church, Wilson helped to establish the CREC as well. Today, there are over 100 CREC branches worldwide between 11 countries, with locations extending as far as Japan.
Wilson has spoken publicly about why he is of the opinion that women do not deserve the right to vote and why homosexuality should be criminalized, amongst other topics.
In wake of his outspokenness, he has become a controversial figure both in politics and religion. The personal invite he received from Hegseth, who is a member of a CREC branch himself, struck a chord in many people across the nation. Wilson is just one of several preachers the Pentagon has hosted in Donald Trump’s second presidential term, but his visit has received the most significant media coverage.
According to the prayer transcript posted on Wilson’s blog, he began his speech by wishing a revolution upon American Christians.
“What I would like to urge upon you this morning, Lord willing, is that many American Christians need a Copernican revolution in their hearts and minds when it comes to their relationship to God and to His Son, Jesus Christ,” Wilson said.
A Copernican revolution refers to the influential astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus, who presented the first mathematical model of a heliocentric system in the 16th century, one where the earth revolves around the sun rather than the earth being the center of the universe. Heliocentrism was proposed as early as the third century B.C. by Aristarchus of Samos, though the Copernican revolution had significant cultural consequences on Christianity and Western culture as the cosmological philosophy became more broadly accepted.
Though Wilson’s opinions on women, homosexuality and the patriarchy didn’t seep into his 15-minute address, according to a CNN article, he made several “military-themed jokes about putting Jesus Christ first.”
Paige Wilton can be reached at [email protected].