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The Department of Homeland Security insists its surveillance at University Baptist Church and other houses of worship was only about alleged criminal violations unrelated to immigration.

Faith leaders recently spoke out against the ICE activity after a decision by the U.S. Supreme Court allowed President Trump to end temporary protected status for the 330,000 Haitians who’ve fled violence.

'The fact that we still have to fight to maintain and renew voting rights in this country is beyond abysmal and a truly national disgrace,' Martin Luther King III said Friday.

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Church

‘We're a connector and a catalyzer, and not a denomination,’ its spokesperson said in an interview.

Nearly half of Americans who left religion cite the mistreatment or rejection of LGBTQ+ people as an important reason. But how do the LGBTQ+ people who stay find healing?

The decision was attributed to Asbury’s objections to the new version of the denomination’s social principles that no longer solely affirm heterosexual marriage.

Nation

In light of advocacy from figures like Doug Wilson and Micah Beckwith, it’s worth remembering why the American experiment includes a ban on religious tests for office.

With a record-setting fundraising haul, Hamilton still faces an uphill battle to become Kansas' first Democratic senator in nearly a century.

Other attempts under federal law to prohibit the display of a highly edited version of the religious text in public schools — primarily the First Amendment’s guarantee of separation of church and state — have been unsuccessful so far.

World

Both Apollo 8 and Artemis II missions included public references to religion, but astronauts aboard the Artemis’ Orion spacecraft struck a broader, more global tone.

Restrictions imposed by Israel against large gatherings due to the Iran war is casting a long shadow on Easter celebrations, but Palestinian Christians may be feeling it most acutely.

Since hostilities erupted last month between Israel and Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group — in the shadow of the wider, U.S.-Israeli war on Iran — over 1,400 people have been killed in Lebanon, and more than 1 million have been forced to flee their homes.

Editorials

Brian Kaylor reflects on state executions during Christmastime and the modern parallels with a biblical character we often leave out of our nativity sets and pageants.

Lawmakers are arguing that if the federal government can restrict structures in the Rio Grande, then they could use the same Act everywhere because of Noah’s flood. Putting aside the legal silliness of the appeal to Genesis, this issue of A Public Witness joins the 22 Republican representatives in their

Focusing almost entirely on the SBC not only minimizes the theological (and political and racial) diversity of Baptists, but it also privileges a patriarchal body over others.

Word&Way Voices

In our familiarity with the birth narrative, we often do not consider the long-term consequences for the secondary figures in the story. It was an unsettling time that left long and permanent scars on their lives.

Advent reminds us that God comes into a world already organized by power and exclusion — and does not accept its terms. If Christianity is used today to justify separation, the gospel calls us back to its center.

The cruel spectacle churns on for now, but Advent prepares us to see anew that there are countless ordinary acts of love happening quietly, out of sight, more than you and I will ever know.

E-Newsletter

After complaints by Mormon politicians, a revised list of recognized religions now excludes denominations like the Disciples of Christ and United Church of Christ — whose churches boast membership among the founding fathers.

This issue of A Public Witness considers the theological problems with the defense secretary regularly quoting Isaiah 6:8 and how his use of Scripture aligns with Bible quotes in violent movies.

This issue of A Public Witness takes you inside a recent gathering to hear from leading scholars as they offer constructive ways to push back against a dangerous and heretical ideology.

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Recent Episodes

Books

Political theorist Laura Field provides an intellectual tour of the MAGA New Right, a movement that has twice carried Donald Trump into the White House.

Combining gifted storytelling with keen analysis, Ryan Davis illuminates lived experiences within the LDS community and offers thoughtful reflections on what it might mean to share one heart and one mind in today’s polarized world.

Jennifer Houston McNeel explores the literary, historical, feminist, and theological significance of mothers and motherhood in the New Testament.

Drawing on cutting-edge work in biblical studies and ethics, David Dault makes the case that the recent rise in Christian Nationalism and religious violence demands new approaches to scriptural interpretation.