Pete Hegseth's mother begged him to "get some help" -- he joined a misogynist church instead
Pete Hegseth's mother begged him to "get some help" — he joined a misogynist church instead
Fringe denomination's leader argues that men "dream of being rapists" because women aren't submissive enough
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In the years since, Hegseth — now on his third marriage — has claimed that he rediscovered Christ, saying "faith became real" to him in 2018. He became deeply involved with the Association of Classical Christian Schools (ACCS), moving to Tennessee to enroll his children in a branch of this fundamentalist organization. He also joined the associated denomination, the Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches. Both are led by Doug Wilson, an untrained and self-proclaimed pastor who advocates for Christian nationalism and has become famous for his trollish promotion of his far-right political views. At the center of Wilson's philosophy is a misogyny so overt that it's sometimes hard to believe he's serious.
"Wilson holds the most extreme views of women’s submission found in any form of Christianity," Julie Ingersoll, a professor of religious studies at the University of North Florida, told Salon. "Women are taught that submission to their husbands (and other male authorities) is submission to God. Independence of any kind is cast as sin."
In one famous passage from his book on marriage, Wilson suggests that sexual violence is women's fault for not being submissive enough.
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Students at ACCS schools who said they were sexually abused by teachers reported being blamed for causing the older men to "stumble." Women say they've been blamed for being raped, for husbands who abuse alcohol and for men's infidelity.
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In a recent video titled "The Natural Use of the Woman," Wilson argues that God designed women "to make the sandwiches" and chastised women who believe "men have a responsibility" to care about the marriage the same way wives do. During the election season, he argued that women's suffrage was a mistake and part of "a long, sustained war on the family." He recommends that husbands who are dissatisfied with a wife's housework skills "call the elders of the church and ask them for a pastoral visit." Stankorb explained that this implies excommunication, "a serious threat for women who have no job or independent income."
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Hegseth doesn't just attend a CREC church and send his kids to an ACCS school. He has associated publicly with Wilson's Christian nationalist teachings in multiple ways. Hegseth is a forceful advocate of the ACCS school system and championed Wilson's efforts to fight pandemic restrictions. After being nominated by Trump, Hegseth went on the "CrossPolitic" podcast, hosted by one of Wilson's pastors, and argued that ACCS schools allow Christian nationalists to "build [their] army underground" for an eventual takeover of American society. Hegseth has blamed sexual assault in the military on "equality," claiming that the issue was "exacerbated" by letting women enlist in the first place. This aligns with CREC teachings that male sexuality is ravenous and the tendency to blame victims for "immodesty" when sexual violence happens. If Hegseth is confirmed to lead the Pentagon, Bell predicted he "would not be worried about rape in military circles," because of these views.
https://www.salon.com/2024/12/03/pete-hegseths-mother-begged-him-to-get-some-help---he-joined-a-misogynist-church-instead/
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