God, Guns, and Gilead: Doug Wilson, Project 2025, and the Real-Life Handmaid’s Tale Taking Shape in America

“Theocracy isn’t a scary concept.” — Pastor Doug Wilson

And yet, somehow, this quote doesn’t come from a fictional regime like Gilead—it comes from a real man with a real church and a real following. One who’s actively shaping what might become America’s future government blueprint.

Doug Wilson, the far-right pastor from Moscow, Idaho, isn’t just preaching fire and brimstone from a pulpit. He’s building a movement. A theocratic one. And thanks to Project 2025—the Heritage Foundation–backed extremist roadmap for a second Trump term—his ideology is no longer fringe. It’s becoming policy.

From Moscow, Idaho to Washington, D.C.
Wilson’s Christ Church is a sprawling religious and political operation. It runs its own college, its own press, and a literal “pastor bootcamp” that grooms men to “lead” in government, business, and family—through the lens of biblical dominion. He wants his small Idaho town to be a model for Christian governance. But he’s not content to stop at city limits.

And neither is Project 2025.

This 920-page policy manifesto aims to dismantle the federal government as we know it. It proposes purging civil servants, obliterating LGBTQ+ protections, defunding public education, and injecting “Biblical values” into every arm of federal power. Many of its drafters come from the same ideological stew as Wilson: theocracy dressed up as “liberty.”

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth—one of Wilson’s most prominent fans—is already carrying that vision into the Pentagon.

Project 2025: A Roadmap to Gilead
Let’s be honest: Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale was supposed to be a warning, not a policy proposal.

And yet, here we are.

Wilson has written that women should not hold civic leadership roles. His Christ Church culture demands female submission. He once argued that slavery wasn't "inherently sinful" if done under biblical law. His entire ideology mirrors the dystopian patriarchy of Gilead—a place where church and state are one and women are property of both.

Project 2025 reads like Wilson’s worldview rendered into federal law. Its vision for a post-secular America isn’t just regressive—it’s downright authoritarian.

Separation of Church and State Wasn’t Optional
The Founders weren’t perfect, but they knew this: religion and state power should not be entangled. That wall of separation isn’t just a legal technicality—it’s the very thing that keeps democracy from becoming theocracy.

When you hear men like Wilson say “theocracy isn’t scary,” they’re telling you they want your rights to bow to their interpretation of scripture. They want to abolish public schools. Criminalize LGBTQ+ identities. Eliminate reproductive freedom. Rewrite civil rights protections. And yes—reshape our government in the image of the church.

They want to build Gilead. They’re just doing it in khakis and polos instead of red robes.

Why I’m Speaking Out—And You Should Too
I believe in freedom of religion. And that’s exactly why I don’t believe religious dogma belongs in public policy. When one theology controls the government, everyone else loses—not just their rights, but their agency, their voice, their personhood.

Doug Wilson and Project 2025 represent the single greatest internal threat to American democracy in modern history. And if we wait until the Handmaids are knocking at our doors, it’ll be too late.

What You Can Do
Call it out. Stop pretending this is just “conservative politics.” It’s theocratic authoritarianism. Name it.

Educate your circle. Most Americans have no idea what Project 2025 even is. Tell them.

Support pro-democracy orgs. Groups like Americans United for Separation of Church and State and Right Wing Watch are doing the work.

Vote like it matters—because it does. School board. County supervisor. President. Every office is now a frontline.

Final Thought
Doug Wilson may be one small-town pastor, but he’s part of something much bigger—and much more dangerous. And if we want to avoid living in a real-life Handmaid’s Tale, we must rise up, speak out, and defend the wall between church and state with everything we’ve got.

Because once Gilead is built, there’s no easy way out.

Join the Resistance
Have you seen signs of this creeping theocracy in your town? Are your rights under attack by “faith-based” policies? Comment below or share this post. We need to build community—and push back—before it’s too late.