Pope Francis called Wednesday for a “humble” Christmas this year, with savings from reduced spending on gifts donated to help the “suffering people of Ukraine.” Francis called for “concrete gestures” of charity for Ukrainians this holiday season during his weekly general audience.
In October, Christian Churches Together, an ecumenical group of Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox Christians, gathered for its annual forum to address a topic that has plagued the church and society beyond it: polarization.
In this edition of A Public Witness, we explore some of the complexities that have emerged from the fire that gutted Middle Collegiate Church. To what degree should historic preservation laws limit what churches can do with their buildings?
Jeremy Fuzy writes that it is an American tradition to believe in the myth of redemptive violence — the idea that we can get violence under control by using more violence. But state-sanctioned killings, whether by police or the death penalty, do nothing to stop
Professor Marcia Pally makes the case that in nations descended from Abrahamic traditions like the U.S., religion is not somehow conservative and anti-democratic while secularism is progressive and pro-democracy. Abrahamic principles are at the core of democracy.
A new study examines the role that politics plays in how Americans choose a new church. When it comes to politics, Mainline Protestant churches are in a difficult spot because they are more politically diverse than evangelical churches.
Brian Kaylor writes that ten years ago today an armed man walked into Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, and opened fire. This massacre at Christmastime evokes memories of part of the biblical story we tend to leave out of our nativities and pageants.
The capital punishment system is often implemented and supported by those who currently celebrate the birth of the Prince of Peace. So in this issue of A Public Witness, we look at the state of the death penalty in the United States and introduce you
Robert D. Cornwall reviews "The Book of Revolutions: The Battles of Priests, Prophets, and Kings That Birthed the Torah" by Edward Feld. This book provides us with an intriguing picture of early Judaism by focusing not on historical narrative but on the development of the
Lisa Sharon Harper writes that here, in the darkness, we acknowledge all the deaths that have occurred from gun violence. Here, in the darkness, we say to each fallen soul: We see you. The dark is clarifying. Isn’t it? When we allow ourselves to sit