Since the 1880s, Southern Baptists Have Argued Over the Role of Women
Since 2000, official Southern Baptist doctrine limits the role of pastor to men. But that doctrine had never been enforced at the national level until recently.
A Moral Reckoning 20 Years in the Making
This edition of A Public Witness revisits how too many American Christians decided to support an unjust war and considers what lessons the American Church can learn two decades later in the hopes of not repeating a sin of such consequence.
Review: Preaching and Praying as Though God Matters
"Preaching and Praying as Though God Matters: In the Post-establishment Church" by Ronald P. Byars seeks to provide us with a word that ties preaching and worship together, with special attention given to the Lord's Table.
Pope Francis at 10 Years: A Reformer’s Learning Curve
Pope Francis celebrates the 10th anniversary of his election Monday, far outpacing the “two or three” years he once envisioned for his papacy and showing no signs of slowing down.
For FBI Legend J. Edgar Hoover, Christian Nationalism Was the Gospel Truth, Argues New Book
In 'The Gospel of J. Edgar Hoover,' Stanford professor Lerone Martin details how the longtime FBI director shaped the belief in America as a Christian nation.
Facing the Threat to Public Education
Wendell Griffen connects attacks on public schools in Arkansas, Florida, and other states to similar efforts in the past and argues that the current situation demands we unite against an effort to replace democracy with authoritarianism and fascism.
Jesus Hates Cable News
In light of the growing controversy about Fox News, we are offering A Public Witness readers a piece originally published as the cover story of Word&Way magazine in October 2021 but which has never been published online.
In North Idaho, Religious and Secular Activists Work to Fight Christian Nationalism
Devotees of far-right politics have flocked to this part of Idaho and the surrounding states for decades, and for as long they have met resistance — including from faith leaders.
Presuming to Hate What God Hates
Contributing writer Rodney Kennedy challenges the presumptions of anyone claiming they hate what God hates. Such a statement, he argues, is a product of bad religion.
Old-School Christian Nationalism’s Avatar of Racism, Antisemitism, and Conspiracies
The early version of Christian nationalism turned the fear of communism into an excuse to embrace prejudice and forfeit American democracy. While Rev. Gerald L.K. Smith’s name is mostly forgotten, his ideas — and the strategies he used to promote them — still haunt America