Nation

With so many ideological strands animating the far-right — including racism, antisemitism, and fervent nationalism — a shared affinity for Christian Nationalism has come to serve as a unifying element, scholars of extremism say. And as Christian Nationalism’s presence grows, experts are concerned it could expand extremism’s influence over other, more moderate conservative politicians and groups. 

A Republican-dominated South Dakota House committee on Friday rejected Gov. Kristi Noem’s proposal to require public schools to have a moment of silence to start the day. The Republican governor first billed the proposal at a conservative Christian conference in Iowa last year as “putting prayer back in schools.”

In this issue of A Public Witness, we tune into the oral arguments in Shurtleff v. City of Boston. We also judge the effort to undermine the Jeffersonian-called separation of church and state by conservative Christians and unlikely allies like President Joe Biden and the ACLU.

Regardless of what happens on Capitol Hill, Progressive National Baptist Convention leaders said they plan to lobby Congress in March and register voters weekly in their congregations and communities.

In this issue of A Public Witness, we study the political effort behind the Bible blitz. We also quiz this movement to consider the pedagogical and religious problems with such legislation. 

On Saturday, a man took people hostage in Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville, Texas. The congregation’s rabbi is particularly well connected to the larger interfaith community and on good terms with many Muslim and Christian leaders.

A religion scholar believes major trends in religion and politics can be traced back to the rise of the religious right in the 1990s, a sea change moment that set in motion an array of phenomena ranging from an uptick in religious disaffiliation to the radicalization of some Christian conservatives.

We introduce you to the man behind Shurtleff v. City of Boston ahead of oral arguments on Jan. 18. Through an unparalleled review of his decades-long advocacy career and an exclusive interview, we look at the man whose case could upend two centuries of U.S. church-state relations. 

In this edition of A Public Witness, we consider the prayers uttered in the U.S. Capitol a year ago by both those seeking to bring the government down and by representatives of the government. We also consider the danger of official government prayers.

In this issue of A Public Witness, we journey back to the events of Jan. 6 with a focus on the co-opting of Christian symbols and values. Then we look at the gift of Epiphany’s message and how it can help us find a new way home after the insurrection.