ISTANBUL

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is under fire after reposting and praising interviews with pastors who argued women should not be allowed to vote and voiced controversial positions on slavery.

Speaking to CNN in the posted video, pastor Toby Sumpter said: “In my ideal society, we would vote as households. I would ordinarily be the one to cast the vote, but I would cast the vote having discussed it with my household.”

Idaho pastor Doug Wilson, who was also interviewed, defended past remarks suggesting "mutual affection between slaves and their masters."

In his Friday repost of the seven-minute segment on X, Hegseth wrote: "All of Christ for All of Life."

Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell told NPR that Hegseth is a "proud member" of a church affiliated with the denomination Wilson founded and "very much appreciates many of Mr. Wilson’s writings and teachings."

Andrew Whitehead, a sociology professor at Indiana University Indianapolis, said the pastor’s movement seeks to "enforce those (beliefs) for everybody."

"It really does matter if the secretary of defense is retweeting a video with very particular views about whether women should be able to vote or serve in combat roles or if slavery really isn’t all that bad," he told NPR.

"That's not just a person's view. It's a person in a pretty broad position of power."

Christ Church has been expanding nationwide, recently opening a parish in Washington, D.C., where CNN reports Hegseth and his family attended services.

Before his current position, Hegseth was criticized over allegations of sexual misconduct and public intoxication – both of which he has denied – as well as making Islamophobic remarks.

As defense secretary, he was accused of revealing confidential details of a military operation in a cellphone chat using a commercial messaging service.