A Bad Actor
We watched our Facebook page erupt on Friday as Jenna Ellis’s followers bombarded us with vitriol, name-calling, and wild conspiracy theories. When someone like Ellis criticizes our reporting, we’re probably doing something right.
Poor People’s Campaign Holds Major DC Rally To Combat Poverty
Thousands of clergy, union leaders, activists, and scholars rallied near the U.S. Capitol on Saturday at a march organized by the Poor People’s Campaign, calling on Congress to take action and address the plight of millions of Americans who struggle with poverty and low-income.
Biden Names Catholic Activist Stephen Schneck to Religious Freedom Panel
Stephen Schneck, a prominent Catholic political activist and academic, has been appointed by President Joe Biden to serve on the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, a federal government panel dedicated to protecting religious minorities and other persecuted groups abroad.
Can the NYT Get Religion?
In this edition of A Public Witness, we investigate the New York Times’s history of stirring religious conversations. Then we examine the surprisingly narrow perspectives regularly offered in the opinion section of the “old gray lady.”
Raphael Warnock Says His Senate Colleagues Sometimes Ask, ‘Rev, Pray for Me’
Sen. Raphael Warnock may have added a title to his name when he was elected to the U.S. Senate last year, but he says he remains first and foremost a preacher. Warnock spoke with Religion News Service about the influence of King on his life,
How Christian Nationalism Paved the Way for Jan. 6
After Trump lost the election in November, a report from the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty and the Freedom From Religion Foundation concluded that Christian nationalism, also referred to as white Christian nationalism, was used to “bolster, justify and intensify the January 6 attack
New Vaccine May Be Option for Troops With Religious Concerns
A COVID-19 vaccine that could soon win federal approval may offer a boost for the U.S. military: an opportunity to get shots into some of the thousands of service members who have refused other coronavirus vaccines for religious reasons.
Faith Leaders, Labor Advocates Push for White House Meeting on Poverty
Faith-led advocacy group the Poor People’s Campaign is pushing for a broad-based meeting with President Joe Biden to discuss poverty, arguing the White House has not adequately responded to requests for a summit despite the president endorsing the group while running for office and speaking
Shootings Expose Divisions on Gun Issue in Faith Communities
After a gunman killed 19 children and two teachers at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, on May 24, several pastors around the country challenged their conservative counterparts with this question: Are you pro-life if you are pro-gun?
The New Satanic Panic
In this issue of A Public Witness, we recall an earlier “satanic panic” before looking at the hellish impact that demonizing our political opponents has on democracy.