FFRF Action Fund chooses a Baptist minister as its “Secularist of the Week” for his diligent coverage of the Trump administration’s hosting of worship services during regular work hours.
Brian Kaylor, an award-winning writer, is president and editor-in-chief of Word&Way, a Missouri-based Christian media company, and an expert on the intersection of religion, politics and communications. Kaylor holds a Ph.D. in political communication and is the author or co-author of seven books on religion and politics, the latest of which covers Christian nationalism: “The Bible According to Christian Nationalists: Exploiting Scripture for Political Power.”
In “A Public Witness,” a Word&Way newsletter, Kaylor has tracked official worship services, titling the coverage “Government Worship Watch.” Kaylor writes that the Trump-era religious rituals are “the most significant example of government worship services since President Richard Nixon organized Sunday services in the White House.”
Kaylor explained that after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth launched the Pentagon’s worship initiative in May 2025, Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer attended one of Hegseth’s services and then began monthly services at the Department of Labor in December. Kaylor maintains a continually updated list of these in “A Public Witness,” including details on who led each service and whether any bible verses, prayers or hymns were used.
Kaylor has noted that media coverage of these official worship services is limited. It is crucial that these state-church violations be tracked and reported, and FFRF Action Fund warmly thanks Kaylor for his dedication.
In “A Public Witness,” Kaylor has also covered last week’s National Prayer Breakfast and Hegseth’s Christian nationalism-fueled remarks in which the defense secretary highlighted his worship services.
“America was founded as a Christian nation. It remains a Christian nation in our DNA, if we can keep it. And as public officials, we have a sacred duty 250 years on to glorify him,” Hegseth professed. “That’s precisely why we instituted a monthly prayer service at the Pentagon, an act of what we see it as, spiritual readiness.”
Kaylor reported that during the Prayer Breakfast, Hegseth “baptized” the military, suggested that U.S. soldiers could gain salvation by fighting for their country and argued that the U.S. military is the Lord’s Army, citing a fabricated story about George Washington praying at Valley Forge. Kaylor noted that Hegseth often likes to mention the story during his worship services.
“To preserve the soul of America, we must continue to wield not just the physical sword but the sword of truth,” Hegseth said at the Prayer Breakfast. “Unafraid and unabashed in this fight, we must remember every single day especially, especially in this town, that all power, honor and all glory belongs to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Christ is king and may God bless our warriors, may God bless our great republic in these United States of America.”
Kaylor has rightly observed that “the National Prayer Breakfast is at its foundation a problematic effort to fuse and confuse American and Christian identities.” His coverage on all things Christian nationalism and the overreaching government-run worship services is crucial as we work to protect our secular democracy.
FFRF Action Fund is a 501(c)(4) organization that develops and advocates for legislation, regulations and government programs to preserve the constitutional principle of separation between state and church. It also advocates for the rights and views of nonbelievers, endorses candidates for political office, and publicizes the views of elected officials concerning religious liberty issues.