Summer Reads 2024
We’ve once again asked several Word&Way writers to each offer two books perfect for curling up with at the beach, on your couch, or in your backyard as you listen to the singing of the cicadas.
Unbaptizing America
“Baptizing America: How Mainline Protestants Helped Build Christian Nationalism” has officially launched — check out the conversation we had to celebrate with Dr. Diana Butler Bass, Rev. Adriene Thorne, and Dr. Andrew Whitehead.
The Barmen Declaration Turns 90
As we mark the anniversary of a powerful confessional statement, this issue of A Public Witness considers how it still speaks to us today with a deep theological assessment of the dangers of uniting church and state.
Reconsidering the Bible Photo Op
This Saturday marks four years since the photo op where Trump awkwardly held a Bible outside a church after police teargassed BLM protesters. Despite all the attention to evangelicals, if you look at the photos all you will see is the influence of mainline Protestantism.
Aiding and Abetting Christian Nationalism
This edition of A Public Witness looks at how denying the problem of Christian Nationalism or putting the blame on the shoulders of others avoids the discomfort of identifying our own complicity and having to alter our practices.
Why ‘Baptizing America’ Matters
This issue of A Public Witness explores what it was like to edit the forthcoming book “Baptizing America: How Mainline Protestants Helped Build Christian Nationalism” from the perspective of a lifelong mainliner.
Developing a ‘Biblical’ Foreign Policy
Given recent claims about how the Bible should guide U.S. policy decisions when it comes to Israel, this issue of A Public Witness reads through Scripture to determine how political leaders should treat various nations.
Moving Foreword
This issue of A Public Witness shares the foreword, written by The Riverside Church's Rev. Adriene Thorne, to our forthcoming book "Baptizing America: How Mainline Protestants Helped Build Christian Nationalism."
Banning the Bible?
This issue of A Public Witness looks at the Antisemitism Awareness Act making its way through Congress and unpacks a claim being made by some far-right politicians and Christian leaders that the bill bans the Bible.
Thrice as Nice
It’s not just that more people are reading — our award-winning journalism is making a difference. So after lighting three birthday candles, this issue of A Public Witness looks back at the highlights of the past year.