Charlie Kirk wanted Christian faith to be his legacy. What did he believe? – The Arizona Republic

Charlie Kirk became a political force known for galvanizing the youth behind President Donald Trump. But his religious faith was the legacy he said he hoped would endure.
“I want to be remembered for courage for my faith. That would be the most important. The most important thing is my faith,” Kirk said in June on a podcast.
In his debates and speeches and on his internet broadcast, “The Charlie Kirk Show,” he pressed conservative views and stumped for Republican politicians. He encouraged listeners to follow God, marry young, have children and prioritize family.
He stressed Judeo-Christian values and regularly spoke at Dream City Church in Phoenix. The church is Pentecostal, a branch of Protestantism. Its Pastor Luke Barnett said he met Kirk in 2020, after Kirk had started attending the church and sought to rent out the space. It’s not clear whether Dream City was Kirk’s official home church.
Vice President JD Vance, who is Catholic, referred to Kirk as a Protestant, saying they regularly debated “who was right about minor doctrinal questions. Because he loved God, he wanted to understand him.”
Kirk started Turning Point Faith, a new branch of his organization, in 2022. It seeks to help churches get more civically engaged so society can “return to foundational Christian values.” While as recently as 2018, Kirk had said politics and religion shouldn’t mix, he had a change of heart. In an April 2022 speech at a church in St. Louis, he said he studied the Founding Fathers’ religious views and came to regret that he had not engaged churches in politics sooner. 
“I asked God for forgiveness,” he said in that speech. On his podcast, he pointed to scripture that stresses improving the nation’s welfare as a motivating force.
Kirk was assassinated while debating college students on a college campus in Orem, Utah, on Sept. 10. Sitting beneath a tent, he encouraged students to challenge him on matters of politics, philosophy and religion. He called the format “Prove Me Wrong,” which grew in popularity under his organization Turning Point USA, which he founded in 2012 at 18 years old.
Here’s what to know about Kirk’s views on faith, and how he believed it should intertwine with family and government.
Kirk criticized of the separation of church and state, saying that while he didn’t believe in establishing a national church, he thought Christianity should influence the morals that shape lawmaking.
“Because at some point, people are going to have to make a decision about what is good and what is bad. What is permissible and what is not permissible. And I think the church, or Christianity, should inform those decisions,” Kirk said.
“Show me a better book, a better teacher, than the Bible to create good citizens,” Kirk said about his support for displaying the Ten Commandments in school classrooms.
He also rejected religions that worshipped more than one God, such as Hinduism, saying, “When you have multiple gods, you get different moralities. And the West has largely embraced the idea that there is a standard of conduct, or a best way to live.”
When asked how this might ostracize Americans of other religious beliefs, he said, “I don’t seek to be inclusive, I seek what his best. And the Ten Commandments are what is best. Would it be offensive to a young Hindu kid? Maybe, maybe not. But it also is a reminder they’re living in a country that’s a monotheistic country.”
In April, Kirk and his wife, Erika Kirk, discussed family and faith on “The Charlie Kirk Show.” They delved into “submission,” an idea they encouraged and called “beautiful” but acknowledged tended to provoke controversy and frustration from critics.
“Women should look for men that have self control, and men should look for women that are willing to submit, which is basically a non-feminist woman,” Charlie Kirk said.
Erika responded, “The whole topic of submission, that word really lights people on fire. But it’s beautiful. Marriage in the right context is so beautiful because your husband will give up everything and anything for you — in a healthy manner. They will literally love you and honor you and cherish you above all. They will put all the noise aside and focus on wife, children, family.”
Kirk often criticized the Christian church, saying it was “nowhere near as bold or courageous or strong as it should be,” and that pastors should “fight harder and fight stronger in the spiritual battle that we’re in.”
He argued the church should instruct the public on all decisions, such as who to marry, how to manage finances and who to vote for.
He criticized churches that didn’t oppose government shutdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic and pastors who stifled potentially controversial sermons for fear of congregants walking out. In 2022, he said such “cowardly” churches were the vast majority in America, prompting him to start Turning Point Faith.
He urged followers to challenge their pastors if they didn’t condemn abortion, preach American exceptionalism and honor veterans.
Kirk’s views weren’t held by all Christians. Salt Lake City Presbyterian Pastor Chris Pritchett, in a social media post urging compassion after Kirk’s assassination, wrote, “I know that for many, Charlie Kirk’s politics and rhetoric were difficult — even painful — to listen to. … Many in our congregation strongly disagreed with his views, and others appreciated him. None of that matters in a moment like this.”
Other Presbyterian pastors have criticized the “Seven Mountain Mandate,” which Kirk purported to endorse. The mandate, spread by charismatic evangelical leaders, said Christians should lead in society’s seven institutions of influence: religion, family, government, education, media, arts, and business.
Kirk was linked to the concept in 2020 at the Conservative Political Action convention when he celebrated Trump as a president who “understands the seven mountains of cultural influence.”
Republic reporter Richard Ruelas contributed to this article.
Taylor Seely is a First Amendment Reporting Fellow at The Arizona Republic / azcentral.com. Do you have a story about the government infringing on your First Amendment rights? Reach her at tseely@arizonarepublic.com or by phone at 480-476-6116.
Seely’s role is funded through a collaboration between the Freedom Forum and Journalism Funding Partners. Funders do not provide editorial input.

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