The pastor of an evangelical church with ties to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth once claimed slavery promoted “affection between the races” in the South.
Doug Wilson, founder of the Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches (CREC), wrote in his 1996 book Southern Slavery: As It Was, that there had “never been a multi-racial society which has existed with such mutual intimacy and harmony in the history of the world.”
Hegseth’s church, Pilgrim Hill Reformed Fellowship outside Nashville, Tennessee, is a member of CREC, according to Tennessee Lookout, which has congregations in nearly all 50 states and several foreign countries.
“Slavery as it existed in the South was not an adversarial relationship with pervasive racial animosity,” Wilson wrote in his book.
“There has never been a multi-racial society which has existed with such mutual intimacy and harmony in the history of the world. The credit for this must go to the predominance of Christianity.”
He added that “in spite of the evils contained in the system, we cannot overlook the benefits of slavery for both blacks and whites. “Slavery produced in the South a genuine affection between the races that we believe we can say has never existed in any nation before the War or since.”
Wilson attempted to defend his writings in a 2020 blog post titled “Not That Simple,” in which he claimed the passages had been taken out of context.
“Would I want to recast or disavow or explain or contextualize or modify certain views expressed as excerpted from SSAIW? The short answer is yes, I would,” he wrote.
The pastor also admitted that there were "abuses" under slavery, but maintained that "the benevolent master is not a myth."
The Independent has reached out to representatives from Christ Church, in Idaho, for comment on Wilson’s past statements.
The Independent has also reached out to representatives for Hegseth for comment about Wilson’s work, and the Defense Secretary’s association to his church.
The former Fox News host-turned-government head has also experienced backlash over the perception of his faith and subsequent views.
Last year, prior to his confirmation as Defense Secretary, concerns were raised over one of his tattoos, with opinion divided over whether it was a “Christian motto” or a white nationalist dog whistle.
Hegseth, an Army National Guard veteran, has the words “Deus Vult” tattooed on his bicep, which has been associated with white supremacist groups. "Deus Vult" is a Latin phrase meaning "God Wills It," and was a rallying cry for Christian crusaders in the Middle Ages.
The Associated Press reported that the tattoo previously resulted in Hegseth being flagged as a possible "Insider Threat" by a fellow service member. However, the AP report led to outrage on both sides, including from Vice President JD Vance.
