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Advocates for Church-State Separation Find Humor, Joy Amid Challenging Work
This week’s Summit for Religious Freedom, organized by Americans United for Separation of Church and State, struck a tone of joyful resistance.
No, Gen Z Is Not Undergoing a ‘Religious Revival’
The CEO of the Public Religion Research Institute makes the case that there is simply no evidence to suggest Americans are becoming more religious, either in their affiliation with a particular faith tradition or in terms of attending religious services more regularly.
Pope Prays With Archbishop of Canterbury Sarah Mullally in Historic Encounter, Vows Dialogue
The encounter between Christianity’s two most famous religious figures would have been unthinkable just a few years ago, given the divisions between their two churches over women’s ordination.
Church
Two Episcopal Bishops Say Clergy May Have to Put ‘Bodies on the Line’ to Resist ICE
‘I’ve asked (clergy) to get their affairs in order, to make sure they have their wills written,’ said the Rt. Rev. A. Robert Hirschfeld, the Episcopal bishop of New Hampshire.
Renee Good Was a Martyr for Her Faith, Like MLK, Say Presbyterians
The Presbyterian Office of Public Witness, part of the Presbyterian Church (USA), says Good is part of ‘a sacred lineage of faithful witnesses who have risked and lost their lives in defense of human dignity.’
On the Sunday After Renee Good’s Killing, Minnesotans Grieve Through Worship and Song
Worshippers took a moment to pause, mourn, and sing, even as they continued to organize resistance efforts against ICE's escalated presence in Minneapolis.
Nation
Trump’s Imperial Currency
In this edition of A Public Witness, we dig around between the couch cushions to explore the relationship between religion and politics as American Christians are confronted with what belongs to God when Caesar becomes more demanding.
LGBTQ Faith Leaders Say Supreme Court’s Conversion Therapy Ruling Will Harm Youth
‘Within the Christian tradition, Holy Week is a week that reminds us that ultimately, love prevails, death does not win,’ said Rev. Brian Henderson, executive director of the Association of Welcoming & Affirming Baptists.
Judge Rejects Johnson Amendment Settlement, Keeping Ban on Pastors Endorsing Candidates
The ruling caps a decades-long battle to overturn a ban on houses of worship endorsing candidates.
World
Deportation Flight to Iran Included Christians at Risk
The Trump administration’s deportation of more than a hundred Iranians held in ICE custody includes Christian converts and other religious minorities who may face harsh penalties for their religious beliefs upon return.
The Danger of Doing Theology by Cartography
This issue of A Public Witness flips to the maps section of the Bible to see who should really control the ‘biblical heartland.’
Pope Leo XIV Enters US Political Fray, Challenging ‘Inhuman Treatment of Immigrants’
The first American pope weighed in on a controversy roiling the Chicago diocese, telling journalists the Catholic Church’s political positions include more than opposing abortion.
Editorials
What is Truth?
This piece was originally published as the cover story of Word&Way magazine in October 2020, but which has never been published online. Read the piece online in our e-newsletter A Public Witness.
DeSantis Preaches Dangerous Armor of God
Word&Way Editor-in-Chief Brian Kaylor reflects on dangers of rhetoric by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis as the Republican politician misquotes Ephesians 6 to demonize his opponents.
Good Samaritan with a Handgun?
On Sunday evening, a man opened fire in a shopping mall in Greenwood, Indiana, killing three people and wounding two others before also being shot dead. What city officials said in response sparked some odd headlines.
Word&Way Voices
In the White Shadows of Schirach and Kirk
Systematic theologian and ELCA pastor Duane Larson reflects on some troubling religious parallels between the late Charlie Kirk and Nazi Youth leader Baldur von Schirach.
When a Christian Leader’s Visit to His Own Holy Site Becomes News
For decades, Western Christian leaders have avoided visiting the Church of the Holy Sepulcher — the most revered site in all of Christianity. So Vice President JD Vance’s recent visit stood out.
The MAGA Betrayal of Christianity
Contributing writer Rodney Kennedy makes the case that the quest for secular political power has led to a conservative evangelical rejection of the clear teachings of Jesus.
E-Newsletter
Protesters Disrupt Southern Baptist Church of Pastor Who Leads ICE Office in Minnesota
‘Jesus — who they claim to worship — went into the so-called houses of God, he flipped over tables. … So that’s what we did today,’ said minister and organizer Nekima Levy Armstrong.
At Labor Prayer Service, Alveda King Tells Government Employees to Work (Without Complaining) or Don’t Eat
Amid an internal investigation into Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer, the Department of Labor held its second monthly worship service featuring the rightwing anti-abortion activist niece of MLK.
Review & Giveaway: Designer Science
C.W. Howell’s book documents what transpired, unpacks the broader meaning, and illuminates the effects of the “Intelligent Design” movement that sought to shake the foundations of the scientific establishment.
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Southern Baptists, Women in Ministry, & a Billboard
In this episode, Word&Way President Brian Kaylor talks with Meredith Stone, executive director of Baptist Women in Ministry. The conversation includes discussion of efforts in the Southern Baptist Convention to further target women serving in churches and how BWIM is advocating for women (including with a billboard to greet SBC messengers next week in Orlando,… -
Divergent Visions for Rededicating the Nation
This episode of Dangerous Dogma features a conversation between Word&Way Editor Brian Kaylor, Lutheran minister and journalist Angela Denker, and Disciples pastor and author Beau Underwood. The conversation includes discussion about Rededicate 250, gerrymandering, Adam Hamilton's Senate campaign in Kansas, and the MAHA movement. You can watch a video version of the conversation here. Here are a few pieces… -
The Christian Past That Wasn't
In this episode, Word&Way President Brian Kaylor talks with Warren Throckmorton, a retired professor who has spent years debunking false claims by Christian Nationalist pseudo-historian David Barton. Throckmorton is the author of the new book, The Christian Past that Wasn't: Debunking the Christian Nationalist Myths that Hijack History. You can watch a video version of… -
Trump vs. Leo
This episode of Dangerous Dogma features a conversation between Word&Way Editor Brian Kaylor, Lutheran minister and journalist Angela Denker, and Disciples pastor and author Beau Underwood. The conversation includes discussion about President Donald Trump's attacks on Pope Leo XIV, Leo's witness against the Iran war, Trump's AI image of himself as Jesus, and the electoral… -
Fight Like Jesus with Jason Porterfield (Reissue)
In this episode, Word&Way President Brian Kaylor talks with Jason Porterfield about his book Fight Like Jesus: How Jesus Waged Peace. This episode originally aired in 2023, except for a new introduction noting a violent prayer by Pete Hegseth during a recent Pentagon worship service and Palm Sunday comments by Pope Leo XIV. Note: Don't forget… -
Pete Hegseth's Crusader Bible (A Trick of State)
In this episode, Word&Way President Brian Kaylor considers Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth's use of the English Standard Version of the Bible, patriarchy in the faith communities Hegseth has been a part of, and his Christian Nationalism. It also reveals that Hegseth's ESV Bible includes two Crusader symbols stamped onto the cover (and that match… -
An Unholy War
This episode of Dangerous Dogma features a conversation between Word&Way Editor Brian Kaylor, Lutheran minister and journalist Angela Denker, and Disciples pastor and author Beau Underwood. The conversation includes discussion about the Iran war, Christian opposition to the war, and viral claims of military leaders claiming this will bring "Armageddon." It also includes consideration of… -
Rewriting the Ten Commandments (A Trick of State)
In this episode, Word&Way President Brian Kaylor looks at legislation across the country that purports to want the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms. But the version mandated by lawmakers cannot be found in any Bible. Kaylor unpacks where the edited language came from, why such legislation is an attack on religious liberty, and the… -
198. American Christianity Divided in Responses to ICE
This episode of Dangerous Dogma features a conversation between Word&Way Editor Brian Kaylor, Lutheran minister and journalist Angela Denker, and Disciples pastor and author Beau Underwood. The conversation includes discussion about ICE actions in Minneapolis, how many clergy are leading protests against ICE while others are supporting ICE, and new research worried about the loss… -
197. Anna Piela and Michael Woolf on Confronting Islamophobia in the Church
In this episode, Word&Way President Brian Kaylor talks with American Baptist ministers Anna Piela and Michael Woolf on Islamophobia, immigration, and how Christians can better engage with interfaith efforts. Anna and Michael are coauthors of the new book, Confronting Islamophobia in the Church: Liturgical Tools for Justice. Watch a video version of this conversation here.…
Books
Review: Sister, Sinner
Claire Hoffman chronicles the dramatic rise, mysterious disappearance, and near-fall of Aimee Semple McPherson, America’s most famous woman evangelist.
Review: Christology in Early Christianity
In this collection of essays, leading historical theologian Brian E. Daley, SJ, surveys the early Church’s profound thinking about Christ.
Review: Delivered Out of Empire
In “Delivered Out of Empire: Pivotal Moments in the Book of Exodus,” Walter Brueggemann shows how Exodus consistently reveals a God in radical solidarity with the powerless.
Review: Kingdom Racial Change
In “Kingdom Racial Change: Overcoming Inequality, Injustice, and Indifference,” three authors combine personal narratives and sociological research to teach Christians how to work together for racial justice.