During his speech as the new speaker of the House last Wednesday, Louisiana Republican Rep. Mike Johnson said that his election was ordained by God.

"I believe that Scripture, the Bible, is very clear: that God is the one who raises up those in authority," Johnson said in his remarks. "He raised up each of you. All of us."

According to Religion News Service, Johnson was elected speaker of the House following a 220-209 vote. The election came three weeks after now-former speaker Kevin McCarthy was ousted from the position.

"Through adversity, it makes you stronger," he said, referring to the three-week period earlier this month for Republicans to elect a new speaker.

In a later speech on the Capitol steps, Johnson laid out his leadership goals by citing Romans 5:3-4.

"I was reminded of the Scripture that says, ‘Suffering produces perseverance, perseverance produces character, and character produces hope,'" he said. "What we need in this country is more hope."

According to the Louisiana Baptist Message, Johnson has been connected to multiple Baptist churches throughout the years and currently attends Cypress Baptist Church in Benton, Louisiana.

He also previously served as a lawyer and communications staffer with the Alliance Defense Fund, which has since been renamed to Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative Christian legal firm.

Brent Leatherwood, head of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, celebrated Johnson's victory. From 2004 to 2012, Johnson served on the commission's board from 2004 to 2012.

"Mike Johnson, a name familiar to many Southern Baptists, has been tapped to lead the chamber, and I want to offer my personal congratulations to him," Leatherwood said in a statement.

Ironically, Leatherwood noted that his first Capitol Hill meeting as head of ERLC was with Johnson and commended the new speaker as someone who "carries an abiding devotion to our convention of churches, subscribes to the principles that are dear to so many Southern Baptists, and has deep pride in our nation."

Throughout his time in office, Johnson has held to Christian conservative viewpoints and has also hosted a podcast with his wife, Kelly, a licensed pastoral counselor, which provides an "analysis of hot topics and current events from a Christian perspective."

"The founders wanted to protect the church from an encroaching state, not the other way around," he said during one podcast episode in Sept. 2022.

"A free society and a healthy republic depend upon religious and moral virtue," he said, adding that without it, society would fall apart.

During his time with ADF, Johnson's written editorials where he denounced homosexuality as an "inherently unnatural" and "dangerous lifestyle" that could lead to the collapse of "the entire democratic system," CNN reported.

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