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When Christian Nationalism scholar and sociology doctoral fellow Karrie Gaspard-Hogewood saw that Feucht would be leading a Christian Nationalistic rally in her city, she decided to blow the whistle at him — literally.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds’s refusal to defend her fellow Lutherans is quite telling for understanding how some politicians are prioritizing politics and religion today.

More than two-dozen groups representing millions of Americans — including the Episcopal Church, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), and the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) — filed a federal court lawsuit.

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Videos

Church

Leaders from a variety of denominations and organizations gathered on International Human Rights Day to call for Christians to stand for justice and dignity for Palestinians.

Even if members are politically active and many leaders are often outspoken about issues and candidates they support, most congregations make great efforts to keep politics out of the church when they gather.

Abuse survivors involved in the initial investigation continue to call on the university to prioritize student safety and healing over correction.

Nation

Facing misinformation and decreases in attendance, clergy whose congregations include immigrants are working to prepare their flocks for potential ICE raids while at worship.

Trump's first term crippled much of the nation's resettlement infrastructure. Now a new executive order threatens to do the same.

‘I want more babies in the United States of America,’ JD Vance told the crowd to approving cheers.

World

An investigation found that he failed to tell police about serial physical and sexual abuse by a volunteer at Christian summer camps as soon as he became aware of it.

In the last two years, the number of religious activists who are being held as political prisoners has sharply increased — part of a broader escalation of a campaign of repression that has also led to the arrests of journalists and other opposition figures.

Thanks to an automatic function on X, formerly Twitter, the team’s fleur-de-lis emoji is automatically added to the hashtag #Saints.

Editorials

Brian Kaylor reacts with satirical humor and sharp criticism to Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt filing lawsuits against dozens of public school districts after school officials enacted mask rules to keep children and teachers healthy amid the omicron surge.

Editor-in-Chief Brian Kaylor reflects on comments made about school prayer as the U.S. Supreme Court agrees to hear a significant church-state case. Some conservative Christian groups are wrongly calling public prayer just a “private” act.

As a Jewish legal advocate and a Baptist minister, we support the arguments of Boston in this critical First Amendment case that Supreme Court justices will hear on Jan. 18. Read the Boston Globe op-ed by Rachel Laser (president/CEO of Americans United for Separation of Church and State) and Brian

Word&Way Voices

Faithful America’s executive director argues that since Trump and the religious right distort faith for their own gain, calling them out is not an attack on religion but rather a necessary democratic and Christian action.

Contributing writer Rodney Kennedy argues that MAGA evangelicals have basically accepted the conclusion that Trump is not a good person — but this doesn’t change their vote due to the power of figurative language.

Palestinian journalist Daoud Kuttab documents how a leading evangelical group recently took a bold step away from pro-Trump American evangelicals.

E-Newsletter

In this review of 2024, we count down our most popular pieces and reflect on some other highlights from the year.

Clergy blast Missouri Gov. Mike Parson for freeing the police officer who was convicted of killing 26-year-old Cameron Lamb.

In this issue of A Public Witness, we share some of what we’ve learned from our series of devotionals this year on Advent in a time of rulers clinging to power, dangerous pregnancies, and violence in Lebanon.

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Recent Episodes

Books

In the face of a rising threat to both church and democracy, “Baptizing America: How Mainline Protestants Helped Build Christian Nationalism” exposes the undercurrents of a dangerous ideology.

In "The Scandal of Leadership: Unmasking the Powers of Domination in the Church," JR Woodward outlines why church leaders often fail and offers a robust theology of power.

This issue of A Public Witness addresses the ways in which American Christians are part of the problem as explored in “The Religion of Whiteness: How Racism Distorts Christian Faith.”

In “Christmaker: A Life of John the Baptist,” esteemed New Testament scholar James F. McGrath turns his critical eye to overlooked details in Scripture and long-neglected sources to discover who this influential figure really was.