Nation

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.

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 to an upcoming execution that also raises concerns.

William Wright of the Faithful Politics Podcast writes that the Brittney Griner prisoner exchange and circumstances that surround it have so many layers to it that it’s a wonder people are naturally retreating to their respective political and cultural camps without spending too much time appreciating the full panoply of details that makes this single issue so meaningful — and equally as confusing.

Warnock not only rebuts the kind of talk that casts Democrats as “godless,” but he also represents a particular brand of social justice-focused Christianity that favors voting rights and prioritizes the poor. By couching those issues in his faith, he offers a prominent counter to the religious right and appeals to the Democrats’ historic base among Black Protestants.