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Membership fell by nearly 400,000 people, continuing a nearly two-decade decline in what is still the largest Protestant denomination in the U.S.

After President Trump took office, a Presbyterian church retreated underground — abandoning their sanctuary for the basement in response to the administration’s decision to allow ICE officers to enter places of worship.

Join us as we celebrate five years of our ‘A Public Witness’ newsletter and highlight the best from the 115 pieces we’ve published over the past 12 months exploring the intersection of faith, culture, and politics.

We are excited to announce a new book unpacking seven types of misuses of Scripture by influential preachers and politicians pushing Christian Nationalism today, officially out Oct. 7 from Chalice Press and available for pre-order now.

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Church

Membership fell by nearly 400,000 people, continuing a nearly two-decade decline in what is still the largest Protestant denomination in the U.S.

After President Trump took office, a Presbyterian church retreated underground — abandoning their sanctuary for the basement in response to the administration’s decision to allow ICE officers to enter places of worship.

‘What might have been an abstract policy decision that's taking place in Washington now is actually impacting communities,’ said Walter Kim, head of the National Association of Evangelicals.

Nation

‘Most — nearly all — serious historians agree that America was not founded as a Christian nation in any meaningful legal, philosophical, or constitutional sense,’ says the group Americans United for Separation of Church and State.

Many Christian leaders have criticized the report, saying it's narrowly focused on concerns of conservative evangelicals and obscures Trump’s own conflicts with other faith groups, including entire denominations.

This week, Rev. William Barber II gathered in front of the White House along with dozens of other clergy to protest the conflict that the Trump administration started against Iran.

World

The encounter between Christianity’s two most famous religious figures would have been unthinkable just a few years ago, given the divisions between their two churches over women’s ordination.

In addition to heading the Church of England, the Archbishop of Canterbury is the spiritual leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion, including the Episcopal Church in the U.S.

This issue of A Public Witness considers some dangerous voices against climate action and then the Christians working to love their neighbors and the Creator by addressing our pressing environmental crisis.

Editorials

The choice of ‘Two Chronicles’ is not a coincidence.

Editor-in-Chie Brian Kaylor reflects on a recent violent prayer by Pete Hegseth during a Christian worship service at the Pentagon and Mark Twain’s satirical work “The War Prayer.”

Editor-in-Chief Brian Kaylor responds to Doug Wilson’s defense of Pete Hegseth holding Christian worship services in the Pentagon, including the one Wilson preached at earlier this month.

Word&Way Voices

The CEO of the Public Religion Research Institute makes the case that there is simply no evidence to suggest Americans are becoming more religious, either in their affiliation with a particular faith tradition or in terms of attending religious services more regularly.

Contributing writer Rodney Kennedy argues that Trump's war against Iran, like his entire presidency, is an exercise in blowing things up. He has shown that he is a demolition expert, not a deal maker.

In significant sectors of American evangelical Christianity, Israel is a theological object beyond moral scrutiny. This is not political support for an ally. It is worship. And by Christianity’s own doctrinal standards, it is sin.

E-Newsletter

Join us as we celebrate five years of our ‘A Public Witness’ newsletter and highlight the best from the 115 pieces we’ve published over the past 12 months exploring the intersection of faith, culture, and politics.

This week, Rev. William Barber II gathered in front of the White House along with dozens of other clergy to protest the conflict that the Trump administration started against Iran.

This week’s Summit for Religious Freedom, organized by Americans United for Separation of Church and State, struck a tone of joyful resistance.

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Recent Episodes

Books

Amar Peterman’s new book makes the case that how we interact with our neighbors forms who we are as Christians. It contains wisdom for scholars, pastors, and lay Christians working to remain steadfast to the hope they profess.

Through sharing her personal story of deep loss, Hannah Miller King reflects on how the ancient Christian practice of communion can reframe our grief by embedding it in a larger picture of gospel hope.

The latest book from Amos Yong recasts what Christians call the missiological question first and foremost to those who would be true believers, including all who might wish to bear appropriate witness to their faith in a pluralistic world.

Drawing on her vocational insights and personal experiences, Episcopal priest, historian, and spiritual director Rhonda Mawhood Lee offers a compassionate vision for understanding and responding faithfully to suicide.