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This issue of A Public Witness unpacks a recent faith-based political ad from Josh Hawley to consider what it tells us more broadly about the state of the 2024 election cycle.

Located on Independence Mall in Philadelphia, the Bible museum was open less than three years and failed to attract large numbers of visitors.

U.S. religious institutions enjoy tax exemptions, most notably from property taxes. Debate has raged for decades over whether the exemptions are fair.

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Dangerous Dogma

Church

As the denomination evaluates its Title IV clergy misconduct policy, abuse survivors say the process needs to be trauma-informed.

‘The Philadelphia Eleven’ depicts the buildup toward the so-called irregular ordination at which four bishops ordained 11 women as priests without the denomination’s approval.

The congregation is already working on architectural plans with an expected cost of between $30 - $40 million.

Nation

Republican senators in Georgia also want to display the Ten Commandments in classrooms and allow religious chaplains to counsel teachers and students.

The Center for Renewing America is denying a report about plans to push Christian Nationalism should Trump win back the White House — but that doesn’t mean the group doesn’t endorse the ideology or want it to help shape public policy.

During this Lenten season, Faithful America is “giving up White Supremacy” through launching a new webinar series. The first installment featured a discussion with Jemar Tisby and Randall Balmer.

World

Though he has allowed new houses of worship to be built and old ones to be reopened, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan needs to do more, observers say, to restore respect for a truly pluralistic society as much as for church property.

Archbishop Welby spent several days in Jerusalem last week following the attack on Israelis by Hamas on Oct. 7 and the ensuing assaults on Gaza by Israeli forces.

Draft law 8371, which requires another vote before moving to the president’s desk, would give Ukrainian authorities power to examine the connection of religious groups in Ukraine to the Russian Federation and to ban those whose leadership is outside of Ukraine.

Editorials

Editor-in-Chief Brian Kaylor responds to a claim by Al Mohler of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary that Methodists who disagree on LGBTQ issues are from “two different religions.” Perhaps Mohler is right.

Editor-in-Chief Brian Kaylor reflects on preachers spreading anti-vaccination messages amid a continuing COVID pandemic. Kaylor also highlights the medical and biblical wisdom of Francis Collins of the National Institutes of Health.

Editor Brian Kaylor reflects on the guilty verdicts in the trial of Derek Chauvin and the concept of justice. Kaylor argues that while holding someone accountable for murdering George Floyd is a step toward justice, we must not confuse it with justice itself.

Word&Way Voices

At the 2023 General Assembly of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Louisville, Kentucky, one of the smallest Mainline denominations met to discuss some of the church's biggest issues.

Contributing writer Rodney Kennedy argues that Southern Baptists are engaged in a long slow return to Rome in a couple of very particular ways: one pagan and one religious.

Theologian and anti-apartheid activist Allan Boesak reacts to the recent U.S. House of Representatives resolution expressing support for Israel.

E-Newsletter

This issue of A Public Witness explores public comments implying the Old and New Testaments are pitted against each other — echoing an ancient heresy.

This issue of A Public Witness looks at the morality tale of Jenna Ellis, a Trump attorney and Christian radio show host, as a warning against exchanging the truth of God for a lie.

This issue of A Public Witness considers Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s reference to Amalek from Deuteronomy and unpacks what it means when politicians invoke such passages during war.

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Podcasts

In episode 47 of Dangerous Dogma, Matthew Boedy, a professor of rhetoric and composition at the University of North Georgia, talks about Charlie Kirk and Turning Point USA..

In episode 46 of Dangerous Dogma, Samuel Perry, a professor of sociology at the University of Oklahoma, talks about the new book he co-authored, The Flag & The Cross: White Christian Nationalism and the Threat to American Democracy.

In episode 45 of Dangerous Dogma, Conrad Kanagy, a professor of Sociology at Elizabethtown College and a former pastor, talks about his book series on A Church Dismantled.

In episode 44 of Dangerous Dogma, Miguel De La Torre, a professor of social ethics and Latinx Studies at the Iliff School of Theology in Denver, Colorado, talks about his book Decolonizing Christianity.

Books

In "Trauma-Informed Evangelism: Cultivating Communities of Wounded Healers," authors Charles Kiser and Elaine A. Heath speak to the concerns of our day so that if we share our faith, we can bring into the conversation the realities of trauma that

In his book "Good and Evil in the Garden of Democracy," author Rodney Kennedy brings his reading of scripture and philosophy into conversation with rhetorical criticism in order to better understand Trump's threat to democracy.

Every month we review and give away a signed copy of a book to a paid subscriber of A Public Witness. This month, we’re happy to make available a signed copy of what Kristin Kobes Du Mez called “an essential

In his book "The Sacred Meaning of Every Day Work," author Robert H. Tribken seeks to answer the question of how faith and work might relate to each other.