Nation

The religious makeup of the new Congress bucks the trends seen in American religious life, a new report finds. The Pew Research Center says the Senate and House members are “largely untouched” by the continuing increase in the share of those who say they do not have a religious affiliation.

As the second anniversary of the insurrection arrives later this week, we are still grappling with what happened that day. So in this issue of A Public Witness, Brian Kaylor looks at the efforts of activists to baptize their political movement and what this teaches us about claiming God’s name.

The delays are just the latest frustration for former students who have publicly accused the school of physical, mental, and sexual abuse. The school, which has been subject to intense social media pressure from activists and at least 20 lawsuits, remains open and has vehemently denied allegations of wrongdoing.

When Americans picture a chaplain, many of them likely think of someone like Father Mulcahy, the Irish American priest who cared for Korean War soldiers in the classic TV show “M.A.S.H.” The reality is much more complex.

In this issue of A Public Witness, we review the significance of Christian Nationalism in what occurred on Jan. 6, and then we offer a word of warning about what is missed when this piece of the puzzle is left out.

Agape Boarding School’s longtime director won a court order Wednesday keeping his name off Missouri’s central registry for child abuse and neglect. The state has been trying to shut the school down over mounting allegations from former students that staff physically, psychologically, and sexually abused them.

Yale Divinity School is launching a new Center for Public Theology and Public Policy, an advocacy-focused body to be led by pastor Rev. William Barber II. Barber has emerged as a prominent activist over the past decade, launching several major protest movements that have attracted attention from liberal leaders.

The Vatican has defrocked an anti-abortion U.S. priest, Frank Pavone, for what it said were “blasphemous communications on social media” as well as “persistent disobedience” of his bishop. 

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott seeks to investigate organizations that he claims have assisted with “illegal border crossings” along the U.S.-Mexico border, raising religious liberty concerns among faith-based groups and religious organizers helping migrants with medical needs and shelter.

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.