Fox News on Sunday asked viewers to bow their heads in prayer during a bible app-sponsored moment that host Pete Hegseth seemed slightly embarrassed about. (Watch the video below.)
“We have more ‘Fox and Friends’ coming up, but you know what, this is a transition for transitions if you’ve ever had one,” he said, laughing.
“So ‘Fox and Friends,’” weekend co-host Rachel Campos-Duffy interjected.
“This is very ‘Fox and Friends,’” Hegseth agreed, “so ready your heart.”
“It’s the 5th Sunday of Lent, and our prayer series continues with the reading of prayer from the Hallow app,” Hegseth went on. “We all need it, let’s do it this morning, close your eyes — if you would, bow your head.”
The host then launched into a religious reading as Campos-Duffy and third host Will Cain bowed their heads.
“Jesus, today we begin the holy period of passion tide,” Hegseth read, as the text of a prayer appeared on-screen. “In these last 2 weeks of Lent, help us understand the mystery of your sacrifice and surrender, make us keenly aware of your love for us. We ask that you make yourself known to us, help us to feel the grace of your presence.”
Hegseth praised Christ for the “selfless love you showed on the cross” before finally arriving at the reason for the Sunday school-like intermission.
“Thank you again to Hallow for this partnership during Lent,” he concluded.
“Amen,” Campos-Duffy said.
On Ash Wednesday, Fox News aired a segment on Hallow in a paid sponsorship, Friendly Atheist reported. Mark Wahlberg, who appeared in the app’s Super Bowl commercial, was a guest.
The actor is a backer of the pay-to-pray app and a guy named Alex Jones (not the InfoWars conspiracy theorist) is the chief executive, the New York Times reported.
Hosts on the conservative cable channel have offered their own spiritual guidance before. In a gushing segment on Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson, a committed evangelical Christian, Kayleigh McEnany said, “I really believe he thinks God is leading the way — this will all get figured out.”
“To everyone out there, pray for him as our speaker,” fellow host Ainsley Earhardt said of Johnson. “Our country really needs some guidance from God right now.”
HuffPost reached out to Fox News for more information on its partnership with Hallow.