Pentagon Schools to Adopt Western Civilization and Christian Curriculum in Ideological Shift

People often assume military schools are apolitical sanctuaries, insulated from the culture wars tearing apart local school boards. But because the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) is federally run and answers directly to the Pentagon, it can be overhauled nationwide by executive fiat.[1]

That reality is taking shape this fall. The Department of Defense is introducing a new course centered on Western civilization and Christianity across its network of roughly 160 schools, which educate 70,000 children of active-duty military and civilian service members across 11 countries.[1]

The shift is part of a broader effort by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to redirect the military's education system toward "patriotic values and classical learning." Hegseth, who previously advocated for classical Christian education in his 2022 book "Battle for the American Mind," has moved quickly to reshape the DoDEA since taking office.[7]

In March, the Pentagon abruptly replaced DoDEA director Beth Schiavino-Narvaez with Paul Craft. The department also installed Tiffany Hoben as chief academic officer. Hoben previously oversaw the rollout of a controversial civics curriculum in Florida under Republican Governor Ron DeSantis.[2][3]

The new high school course, "Western Civilization to 1500," will be offered through the department's virtual school to fulfill a world history graduation requirement. It relies on a textbook titled "The Golden Thread: A History of the Western Tradition, Volume I: The Ancient World and Christendom."[1][4]

Published by the conservative Encounter Books, the text includes lesson plans developed in partnership with Hillsdale College, a conservative Christian institution in Michigan that has become a major player in K-12 curriculum development.[5]

The textbook's introduction explicitly frames its mission as a defense of Western heritage. "When citizens of Western countries are utterly ignorant of history, as most now are, they are left unarmed against the general hostility to their own tradition that has become so destructive a force in contemporary culture," the authors write.[6]

Historians who reviewed excerpts of the material have raised alarms about its historical accuracy and framing. The text explicitly links Western civilization with Christianity while casting Islam as an inherent threat to both.[1]

In a section titled "Holy War and Martyrdom in Battle," the book describes Christian conflicts like the Crusades as defensive actions meant to protect fellow Christians. Conversely, it asserts that Islam glorifies violence, drawing direct lines between historical Islamic empires and modern events like the September 11 attacks and the October 7 Hamas attacks.[3]

Matthew Gabriele, a professor of history and religion at Virginia Tech, noted that the curriculum strips out crucial historical context to depict Islam as an aggressive tradition while downplaying the religious violence of the Christian church. Phil Gorski, a historical sociology professor at Yale University, questioned whether the course is "a Trojan horse for classical Christian education."[3]

The curriculum overhaul follows other ideological battles within the DoDEA. Last year, the American Civil Liberties Union sued the defense school system over its decision to ban hundreds of books covering race, gender, and democracy.[2]

While the Pentagon stated it remains committed to providing military-connected students with "the best possible education," it has not directly addressed the criticisms of the new textbook. For conservatives, however, the DoDEA has become a successful proving ground for an educational model they hope to export nationwide.[1]