Four More Years … For This Newsletter
After lighting four birthday candles, this issue of A Public Witness reflects on our newsletter highlights from the past year as we look forward to four more years (and beyond).
Review: Evangelism in an Age of Despair
In “Evangelism in an Age of Despair: Hope Beyond the Failed Promise of Happiness,” Andrew Root contextualizes evangelism for our times and reimagines what the call to outreach means in today’s world.
Shane Claiborne, Four Other Faith Activists Arrested While Protesting GOP Budget Bill
‘Stir the conscience of our nation. Let justice rise up on these very steps, let truth trouble the chambers of the Capitol,’ Shane Claiborne said as he prayed.
Trump Draws Criticism With AI Image of Himself As the Pope Ahead of the Papal Conclave
While Trump attended Francis’s funeral, he and JD Vance have clashed with U.S. bishops in general and Francis in particular over the administration’s hard line stance on immigration and its efforts to deport migrants en masse.
Trump Signs Executive Order Creating Religious Liberty Commission
President Donald Trump has appointed evangelical allies and a pair of high-profile Catholic clergy to join other faith leaders on a National Commission on Religious Liberty.
The Fake History of a Failed Bible
This issue of A Public Witness opens up the Aitken’s Bible to consider the tale of a flop and how Christian Nationalists misleadingly repackage it as ‘a Bible approved by Congress.’
SBC Membership Drops to Its Lowest Number in 50 Years. But Baptisms Are on the Rise.
The Southern Baptist Convention lost 259,090 members in 2024 — the 18th consecutive year of membership decline — according to the denomination’s Annual Church Profile report, released Wednesday.
Missouri Lawmakers Should Reject Fake ‘Chaplains’ in Schools Bill
A chaplain is not just a pastor or a Sunday School teacher or a street preacher shouting through a bullhorn. This is a unique role, often in a secular setting that requires assistance with a variety of religious traditions.
The Supreme Court Case That Could Dismantle Church-State Separation
This issue of A Public Witness looks at the dustup over St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School in Oklahoma and the religious freedom arguments before eight black-robed justices.
Review: Braving Difficult Decisions
In “Braving Difficult Decisions: What to Do When You Don't Know What to Do,” Rev. Dr. Angela Williams Gorrell maps out a process for working through the most challenging aspects of complex choices.