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The ongoing decline of organized religion in America has led to an existential crisis for tens of thousands of congregations. Over the past two decades, the median size of a congregation has dropped from 137 people to 65 people. Rather than owning a building that was empty most of the week, Embrace Church is part owner of a thriving third space — filled every day with the sounds of conversation and friendship.

One is an ordained pastor in Brooklyn, the other a single mother and children’s book author in New Jersey. Both drive for Lyft. Both share the word of God as roving preachers. 

Many reasons have been suggested as to why highly religious Americans are less likely to be worried about climate change or work to try to stem it. But in the end, a new Pew Research survey concludes, it’s all about politics. Massive gaps in views among people claiming the same type of religion point to political partisanship as the crucial factor driving their environmental opinions.

In this edition of A Public Witness, we’ll coach you up on the history of the men’s World Cup and the particular details around the 2022 tournament in Qatar that begins in just a few days — and we’ll explain why the penalty cards should come out for these games. Then we ask an important question: Should Christians (and others) watch the contests knowing the blood, sweat, and tears required to make them possible?

Among U.S. faith leaders and denominations, there are sharp differences over the bill advancing in the Senate that would protect same-sex and interracial marriages in federal law. The measure, a high priority for congressional Democrats, won a key test vote Wednesday.

When Trump announced yet another White House bid from his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida on Tuesday, he did so with a speech devoid of overt religious references. While some of Trump’s stalwart evangelical supporters were there — namely, conservative commentator Eric Metaxas, pastor Mark Burns, and MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell — many of the former president’s longtime religious defenders were nowhere to be seen.

Novelist and philanthropist MacKenzie Scott has awarded Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service $15 million in donation funds, the single largest contribution in the advocacy organization’s 83-year history. Scott’s $15 million donation comes as the group works to resettle Afghan refugees, people fleeing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and asylum-seekers along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Greg Locke, a Tennessee pastor known for his viral videos about COVID-19, election conspiracies and witchcraft, claims another social media giant has given him the boot. A Donald Trump supporter who has been featured at Christian nationalist events such as America’s Revival and disgraced former Trump official Mike Flynn’s ReAwaken America tour, Locke was banned from Twitter last year for spreading misinformation.

Robert D. Cornwall reviews "Church on the Move: A Practical Guide for Ministry in the Community" by G. Travis Norvell. Churches can easily become insulated from the surrounding world. They create silos by turning turn inward, seeking to protect whatever space they have accumulated over the years. This book challenges us to examine our context and consider how the church can be present in the broader community.

When the pandemic hit, many Americans lost the habit of churchgoing after almost every church in the country closed their in-person services and shifted online. But did some of them give up on God? In a new study, sociologists raise questions about the rapid decline in indicators of “intense religion” during the pandemic, which they argue may be due to changes in a popular survey rather than a sign of religious decline.