Speaking to reporters at the Pentagon recently, U.S. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth promised to bring on Iran the biggest onslaught of the war thus far. He spoke of “overwhelming force” and the U.S. military’s unrivalled ability to rain “death and destruction from above” on its “apocalyptic” Iranian enemies.
He ended his remarks by asking the American people to pray for victory in battle and the safety of American troops. “Every day, on bended knee, with your family, in your schools, in your churches,” he added, they should pray “in the name of Jesus Christ.”
As the following day’s New York Times commented: “At a time when the U.S. and Israeli militaries are dropping thousands of bombs on a majority-Shiite Muslim nation, the explicitly Christian nature of Mr. Hegseth’s call stood out.”
Prayer in schools?
When I attended state schools in Derby from the mid-1950s to the late-1960s, every school day began with an act …