On Wednesday, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth hosted a Christian prayer and worship service at the Pentagon, an event that included a sermon by his hometown pastor, Brooks Potteiger, who described President Donald Trump as “sovereignly appointed.”

Held in the Pentagon auditorium and broadcast live on the department’s internal TV network, the service was advertised as the first of planned monthly gatherings.

However, legal experts and former officials raised concerns about potential violations of the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause.

According to CNN, Hegseth opened the service, attended voluntarily by Department of Defense (DoD) personnel, with remarks emphasizing the importance of prayer in the current national moment.

“This is precisely where I need to be, exactly where we need to be as a nation at this moment, in prayer, on bended knee, recognizing the providence of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ,” he said, encouraging attendees to spread the word about future services.

The event was promoted through an internal email to DoD employees, which included an RSVP option, and a brochure titled “Secretary of Defense Christian Prayer & Worship Service” featuring the DoD seal was distributed at the event.

Potteiger, pastor of Hegseth’s Tennessee-based Pilgrim Hill Reformed Fellowship, delivered a sermon that included Pentagon-specific references, asserting divine sovereignty over military operations, from missiles to strategy meetings.

He also prayed for the continuation of the prayer service, expressing hope that it would inspire Christian unity and influence across the nation. Notably, Potteiger’s prayer thanked God for Trump and other leaders, crediting them with bringing “stability and moral clarity” to the country.

The event has sparked significant controversy due to its unprecedented nature.

While the Pentagon routinely accommodates religious services for various faiths, these are typically held in the Pentagon Chapel, not broadcast internally or hosted in the auditorium by the Secretary of Defense.

According to current and former defense officials, it is highly unusual for a secretary to host a religious event during work hours, particularly one tied to a specific faith.

Legal experts have raised alarms about the service’s implications under the First Amendment, which prohibits the government from endorsing or promoting a particular religion.

Retired Air Force Lt. Col. Rachel VanLandingham, a national security law expert and professor at Southwestern Law School, described the event as a “clear violation” of the Establishment Clause.

She pointed to the use of the DoD seal on the brochure and Hegseth’s direct involvement as evidence of government sponsorship.

“He’s advocating for this, putting the weight of the official Office of the Secretary of Defense behind a particular religious event,” VanLandingham said. “That’s wrong.”

A former Pentagon lawyer, who left the department in April, echoed these concerns, calling the service “incredibly problematic.”

They noted that broadcasting the event internally and tying it to the secretary’s office could be perceived as an endorsement of Christianity, even if not explicitly stated.

The involvement of the secretary, they argued, could also create pressure on service members and civilian employees to attend, despite the event being labeled as voluntary.

Pentagon policy defines a “substantial burden” on religious exercise as any government action that pressures service members to act against their sincerely held beliefs, a threshold critics argue this event may cross due to the hierarchical nature of the military.