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A pastor in the fight for Christian supremacy in the Trump era
A look at Pastor Doug Wilson's quest for Christian dominance in the Trump age. His controversial views and connection to influential politicians raise questions.
A pastor in the fight for Christian supremacy in the Trump era
In a crowded room on a Sunday morning last month, several people gathered above a former bar just three blocks from the U.S. Capitol for the grand opening of a new church.
The opening of Christ Church Washington DC
The first service of Christ Church Washington DC, an extension of an Idaho-based evangelical movement, was held in a building owned by the Conservative Partnership Institute (CPI), a think tank co-led by Mark Meadows, President Donald Trump's former chief of staff. The interior featured exposed brick and plumbing, while an American flag hung above the pastor's makeshift stage.
Shortly before the service began, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth came in with his wife and children. Although he did not live in Washington, the opening marked a major achievement for Douglas Wilson, a self-described Christian nationalist pastor who, since the 1970s, has expanded his evangelical church in Moscow, Idaho, into an international network of more than 150 churches, several Christian schools, a college and a publishing company.
The vision of Douglas Wilson
In a variety of books and blog posts, Wilson argues that America should embrace a Christian theocracy based on a biblical view of society. The new church in Washington is part of that mission, Wilson said.
“Every society is theocratic,” Wilson noted in an interview with CNN at his Christ Church in Idaho. "The only question is, who is 'Theo'? In Saudi Arabia, Theo is Allah. In a secular democracy it would be Demos, the people. In a Christian republic it would be Christ."
Wilson believes in a patriarchal society where women are expected to be subordinate to their husbands. In his church, women are excluded from leadership positions. He supports revoking the 19th Amendment, which grants women the right to vote (although it is not his top priority), wants to ban abortions and says homosexuality should be a crime.
Influence under Trump
Despite his fringe position within the religious right, Wilson has increasingly found a broader Republican audience during the Trump era. During the Covid pandemic, his church in Moscow defied lockdown rules and held an outdoor protest in September 2020, leading to arrests and national attention. His church in Idaho has about twice as many members since 2019, he says.
Last year, Wilson was interviewed on Tucker Carlson’s podcast and spoke at Charlie Kirk’s Turning Point USA’s “Believers’ Summit.” “My views have become increasingly mainstream in many areas without changing,” Wilson commented.
With a newly created Faith Office in the White House and Hegseth launching monthly prayer services at the Pentagon, Wilson is among an emerging group of Christian religious leaders gaining influence among MAGA conservatives.
Criticism and controversial views
"I'm not a white nationalist. I'm not a fascist. I'm not a racist. I'm not a misogynist, and those are the names I'm often called," he said. "And if someone says, well, that's Christian nationalism, then I can - well, I can work with that."
Walter Wilson's most influential supporter in the Trump administration is Hegseth, who is a member of a church in Tennessee that is part of Wilson's network, the Fellowship of Reformed Evangelical Churches (CREC). He called it "very encouraging" to see Hegseth's determined way of "living what he believes," which included eliminating DEI and so-called "woken" policies in the military.
The incessant challenges
Wilson acknowledged that Hegseth has a controversial past, including numerous marital infidelities as well as allegations of excessive drinking and sexual abuse, which Hegseth denies. Nevertheless, Wilson believes that Hegseth is now living as a “Christian man.”
His church has already benefited from Trump's presidency. In May, the Justice Department intervened on the church's behalf and sued the city of Troy, Idaho, for rejecting the church's request to operate in a building formerly used for a bank, citing downtown traffic and parking problems.
The DOJ lawsuit accuses the city of religious discrimination.
The mission to create a Christian society
In a blog post titled "A Mission to Babylon" announcing the new church in Washington, Wilson wrote that there will be "many strategic opportunities with numerous evangelicals present both in Washington and around the Trump administration."
"We don't plant the church to connect with senators and important people. We plant the church so that the important people in D.C. are reminded that God is the important one. What matters is his benevolence," Wilson told CNN.
A divided university town
Wilson, 72, appears as a sincere, gentle grandfather with a thick white beard. He has three adult children, all of whom are members of the CREC Church. He describes the sense of community as lost and says that once such a community begins, people are called names like "cult."
His church is unmissable in the city. In addition to Christ Church, Wilson founded Logos School more than four decades ago when his eldest daughter became school-aged. This was followed by the founding of New Saint Andrews College in the 1990s, a small four-year college located on Moscow's main street.
More than anything, Wilson says, the Covid pandemic and the government’s response is what’s fueled growth in his church. People were “chased here,” he says, by blue-state governors, Covid restrictions and pastors elsewhere who closed their churches down.
Final thoughts
Wilson found that his critics, who accused him of wanting to turn American society into a The Handmaid's Tale-style theocracy, misunderstood his mission. He believes many of them are amazed in their areas of life at the freedoms they could have if they lived under a different form of government.
“We live under an oppressive, tyrannical state that wants to regulate how much water comes out of my showerhead,” Wilson said.
His ultimate vision remains the creation of a Christian theocracy worldwide to enable the return of Christ, and he believes this could take another 250 years or so. “Yes, in peaceful ways, by sharing the gospel,” he added. “The world has 8 billion people and there is still a lot to do.”