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This issue of A Public Witness pulls back the curtain to explore self-defeating efforts from the religious right in Washington and Iowa.

This issue of A Public Witness drives over to the opening stop of the 2026 'The Vote Is Sacred Tour' at a Missouri church that’s seen firsthand the efforts this year to distort elections and dilute the voting power of Black communities.

The defense secretary’s conscription of Isaiah 6:8’s ‘send me’ to promote military recruitment has also drawn rebukes from Christian Nationalist figures such as pastor/commentator Joel Webbon and former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene.

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Videos

Church

During a gathering in Nashville, scholars looked at the theology, money, and music reshaping how Americans worship and experience God.

This issue of A Public Witness reports on how pastors are responding to news that undercover federal agents secretly spied on them, and includes updates about more incidents revealed at a Baptist church that is covered by a federal injunction blocking such warrantless DHS actions.

On the first day in 16 years that three death row inmates were scheduled to be executed on the same day, faith groups in Tennessee, Georgia, Texas, Kentucky, Wisconsin, and Iowa tolled their bells as part of a campaign.

Nation

Wesley Welch of King’s Church DC delivered the sermon, becoming the ninth Southern Baptist pastor to preach out of 17 total services.

The longtime president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary said he erred in saying the government should be able to punish those who don’t believe God was part of America’s founding.

The head of the U.S. military — who has Crusader imagery tattooed on his body and the cover of his Bible — spent the anniversary promising divine violence.

World

This issue of A Public Witness considers some dangerous voices against climate action and then the Christians working to love their neighbors and the Creator by addressing our pressing environmental crisis.

Trump delivered an extraordinary online attack against Leo on Sunday night after the first U.S.-born pope suggested that a ‘delusion of omnipotence’ is fueling the U.S.-Israel war in Iran.

The General Staff of Ukraine’s armed forces said in a statement Sunday that it had recorded 2,299 ceasefire violations by 7 a.m., including assaults, shelling, and small drone launches.

Editorials

Brian Kaylor reacts to claims that God is sending a message through a 4.8 magnitude earthquake shook the northeastern part of the U.S. on Friday or a solar eclipse going across much of the U.S. on Monday.

During a recent debate in the Missouri Senate over a proposal to create rape and incest exemptions to Missouri’s abortion ban, one lawmaker argued against such exceptions by defaming God.

For the final devotional exploring Advent in a time of bloodshed in Israel, Brian Kaylor reflects on how Gaza is significant in a biblical story that doesn’t explicitly mention the place.

Word&Way Voices

Stanley Hauerwas writes that ‘war is America’s central liturgical act necessary to renew our sense that we are a nation unlike any other nation.’ Contributing writer Rodney Kennedy connects this idea to our TV habits.

When Christianity becomes publicly associated with nationalist aggression and eagerness for war, it presents a face to the world that is, by any honest reading of the New Testament, a misrepresentation of the faith.

Contributing writer Sarah Blackwell explores the importance of ‘theodiversity’ on college campuses, where student ministries are often dominated by conservative evangelicals.

E-Newsletter

The service marked the third time in 15 monthly services that the sermon was delivered by Brooks Potteiger, a member of Doug Wilson's Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches.

In detailing the evolution of homeschooling in the United States, this book is an enjoyable and enlightening read that challenges preconceptions and invites new, more informed questions.

This issue of A Public Witness documents several outlandish events beyond those named in a recent church-state lawsuit by employees or a complaint from the Freedom From Religion Foundation.

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Recent Episodes

Books

Drawing on her vocational insights and personal experiences, Episcopal priest, historian, and spiritual director Rhonda Mawhood Lee offers a compassionate vision for understanding and responding faithfully to suicide.

L. Daniel Hawk exposes the belief systems and practices that settlers developed to justify the displacement, destruction, and cultural erasure of Indigenous peoples, beginning in the early American colonial period and extending to the present day.

Amar D. Peterman explores how the common good can be cultivated through the practice of neighbor love and encourages Christians to join their neighbors at what he calls ‘the shared table.’

If HGTV decided to cast a show about fixing up your old religion, few could compete with James McGrath to be the star who transforms outdated edifices into contemporary spiritual structures.