Pastor Douglas Wilson, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s spiritual adviser, wants to remake Moscow, Idaho, into a Christian town.Geoff Crimmins/ZUMA
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On a brilliantly sunny day in May, Mother Jones national correspondent Kiera Butler found herself eating quiche in the cheerful breakfast nook of a home high above the rolling farmland of Moscow, Idaho. Her host was Doug Wilson, a firebrand pastor, self-proclaimed Christian nationalist, and spiritual leader steering a rapidly growing empire.
During her visit, Wilson, who is 73, was soft-spoken and friendly, reminiscing with his wife about when their now-grown kids were young. But behind that grandfatherly veneer lies a movement that preaches rigid patriarchy, strict discipline, and a deep disdain for progressive politics.
“God has called men to be aggressive leaders,” Wilson says. “If they fail to follow through, then they are disobeying God.”
This week on Reveal, Butler and producer Steven Rascón go inside the homes of Wilson’s inner circle to show how fringe fundamentalist doctrines are quietly migrating from rural church pews into the heart of American national security policies pushed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who counts Wilson as one of his spiritual advisers.
