FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 
Date: Thursday, May 22, 2025 
Press Contact: [email protected] 
Website: www.atheistsforliberty.org 

Atheists Speak Out Against Pete Hegseth’s Prayer Service

NEW YORK, NY — Atheists for Liberty, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, condemns the Pentagon prayer service held in one of our nation’s most secure and respected facilities.

On Wednesday, May 21, 2025, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth led a Christian prayer service at the Pentagon. He stated that he plans for this to become a voluntary monthly event in the auditorium. Hegseth asked attendees to bow their heads and prayed, “King Jesus, we come humbly before you, seeking your face, seeking your grace, in humble obedience to your law and to your word. We come as sinners saved only by that grace, seeking your providence in our lives and in our nation. Lord God, we ask for the wisdom to see what is right and in each and every day, in each and every circumstance, the courage to do what is right in obedience to your will. It is in the name of our lord and savior, Jesus Christ, that we pray. And all God’s people say amen.”

As a nonprofit organization that values secularism and the upholding of the Constitution, we view this as a violation of the First Amendment. The U.S. Constitution states:

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.”

The Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense. A prayer publicly led by a government authority on federal property—especially if planned as a recurring event—contradicts the First Amendment’s prohibition against establishing a state religion.

Atheists for Liberty will continue to defend the fundamental freedoms that support the human quest for knowledge and the separation of religion & government.

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