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Featured
As Deportation Fears Keep Immigrants From Work, Their Churches Feel Financial Strain
Newly strained finances are just one reality that Latino immigrant churches are adjusting to as the Trump administration accelerates a promised mass deportation campaign and other aggressive changes to immigration policy.
Canceling a Prophet
This issue of A Public Witness explores what the ending of a significant comedy institution means in light of the fact that Stephen Colbert is one of the most prominent Christians in popular culture today.
The Angels Are Playing Armstrong
Contributing writer Sarah Blackwell reflects on the connections between jazz, supporting young people, church life, and the kingdom of God.
Church
Black Church Leader Says Target Boycott Won’t Ease Until DEI Programs Return
Some reports suggest Target has seen decreases in foot traffic during the same period as the boycotts.
‘The Fire Made Us Fearless’: New York Middle Church’s Material Resurrection
After years of scrambling to preserve the community and the church’s mission during renovations, the church now wants to get back to its social justice work.
Black Churches Back Embattled Smithsonian African American History Museum After Trump’s Order
In a March 27 executive order, Trump alleged that Smithsonian exhibits had disparaged the nation's history via a ‘divisive, race-centered ideology.’
Nation
New Lawsuit Claims Social Studies Standards Violate Oklahomans’ Religious Freedoms
A group of 33 parents, teachers, and faith leaders asked the state’s highest court to block the controversial new standards, which dictate what topics public schools must teach starting in the 2025-26 academic year.
Televangelist Jimmy Swaggart, Whose Ministry Was Toppled by Prostitution Scandals, Dies at 90
Swaggart’s downfall came in the late 1980s as other prominent preachers like Jim Bakker faced similar scandals.
‘We Were Called Book Burners’: Families React to SCOTUS LGBTQ+ Books Decision
While not definitive, the decision signals the justices’ inclination to see conservative religious parents succeed in their two-year legal challenge to the school policy that has dominated discussions at school boards and divided county residents.
World
As Wars Rage Around Them, Armenian Christians in Jerusalem’s Old City Feel the Walls Closing In
The small Christian community has begun to fracture under pressure from forces they say threaten them and the multifaith character of the Old City.
Seeking ‘Advent Not Arms,’ Global Christian Leaders Demand End of Arms Sales to Israel
A letter with more than 200 signatories, organized by Churches for Middle East Peace in the United States and Embrace the Middle East in the United Kingdom, was provided to A Public Witness ahead of its formal release today.
Christians in Syria Mark Country’s Transformation With Tears As UN Envoy Urges an End to Sanctions
Many Syrian Christians, who made up 10% of the population before Syria’s civil war, either fled the country or supported Assad out of fear of Islamist insurgents.
Editorials
A Ceasefire Won’t Bring Peace to Gaza. Only Justice Will.
Editor-in-Chief Brian Kaylor reflects on recent violence between Israel and Hamas to argue that a ceasefire will not actually bring peace and justice to the people living in Gaza. Kaylor adds insights learned from Arab and Palestinian Christians.
The State Shouldn’t Pick Winners & Losers in Religion
Editor-in-Chief Brian Kaylor reflects on legislation pushing the teaching of the Bible in public schools. He explores significant church-state problems that would arise from such efforts.
Executing Justice
Editor-in-Chief Brian Kaylor reflects on news that DNA evidence tested FOUR years after the execution of a Black man in Arkansas suggests the state killed an innocent man. Kaylor also highlights the Baptist prophet who tried to stop the execution.
Word&Way Voices
A Tale of Two Faiths
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.
Disease, Disgust, and Demons: A Trilogy of Toxic Tropes
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.
Lausanne Movement Offers a Breath of Fresh Air to Arab Evangelicals
Palestinian journalist Daoud Kuttab documents how a leading evangelical group recently took a bold step away from pro-Trump American evangelicals.
E-Newsletter
Cloud of Witnesses Beneath the Sanctuary
Modern churches still gather on the traditions and teachings of the generations who went before us. This is important to remember in a time when some ‘prophets’ invent new theologies and ways of interpreting the Bible.
When the Wolves Came
Sociologist Ruth Braunstein recently decided to try a different way of analyzing religion, politics, and money: a documentary podcast exploring divergent evangelical responses to Christian Nationalism.
Nearly 200 Missouri Faith Leaders Urge Lawmakers to Promote Religious Liberty, Not Ten Commandments
The letter follows a contentious hearing over Senate Bill 594 last week that several ministers attended to testify against the proposal.
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187. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver on Faith & Politics [Reissue]
![Listen to 187. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver on Faith & Politics [Reissue]](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg'%20viewBox='0%200%20100%20100'%3E%3C/svg%3E)
In this episode originally recorded in 2021, Word&Way President Brian Kaylor talks with Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.) about faith and politics as a United Methodist minister and U.S. congressman. Cleaver also discusses his experience on Jan. 6, attacks on voting rights, and what gives him hope. First released four years ago, this episode is being… -
186. Elizabeth Hinson-Hasty on Authentic Christian Freedom
In this episode, Word&Way President Brian Kaylor talks with Elizabeth Hinson-Hasty, a professor at Union Presbyterian Seminary in North Carolina and author of the new book Authentic Christian Freedom: Deconstructing the American Gospel of Liberty. She discusses issues of Christian ethics, liberty, fundamentalism, ministry, and seminary education. Note: Don't forget to subscribe to our award-winning e-newsletter… -
185. Mara Richards Bim on Holding Prayer Vigils Outside an ICE Office
In this episode, Word&Way President Brian Kaylor talks with Mara Richards Bim about a weekly interfaith prayer vigil being held outside an ICE office in Dallas, Texas. She talks about how denominations are fighting back in court and the how Department of Homeland Security is co-opting Bible verses to justify ICE actions. She also discusses… -
184. Warren Throckmorton on Getting Jefferson Right
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 coauthor of Getting Jefferson Right: Fact-Checking Claims About Thomas Jefferson and author of the forthcoming The Christian Past That Wasn't: Debunking the Christian Nationalist Myths That… -
183. Shannon Fleck of Faithful America
In this episode, Word&Way President Brian Kaylor talks with Shannon Fleck, the new executive director of Faithful America. She discusses Christian Nationalism in Oklahoma and nationally. You can watch a video version of his conversation on YouTube. Fleck's predecessor, Rev. Nathan Empsall, previously appeared on episode 61 of Dangerous Dogma. He also wrote several columns… -
182. Ruth Braunstein on When the Wolves Came
In this episode, Word&Way President Brian Kaylor talks with sociologist Ruth Braunstein about her documentary podcast When the Wolves Came. You can also find her writings at her Substack newsletter Democracy Is Hard. Mentioned in the episode is Caleb Campbell, who previously appeared on episode 150 of Dangerous Dogma. Note: Don't forget to subscribe to… -
181. Angela Denker on Disciples of White Jesus
In this episode, Word&Way President Brian Kaylor talks with journalist and Lutheran minister Angela Denker about her forthcoming book Disciples of White Jesus: The Radicalization of American Boyhood. You can watch a video version of this conversation here. You can also hear an earlier conversation with Denker in episode 68, and a conversation with Caleb Campbell… -
180. David Swartz on Rebel on Main
In this episode, Word&Way President Brian Kaylor talks with historian David Swartz about his new narrative podcast project Rebel on Main, which offers a historical and contemporary exploration of a Kentucky county and its unusual Confederate statue. You can watch a video version of this conversation here. (You can also hear an earlier episode with… -
179. Munther Isaac on Christ in the Rubble
In this episode, Word&Way President Brian Kaylor talks with Rev. Munther Isaac, pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Christmas Church in Bethlehem, about his forthcoming book Christ in the Rubble: Faith, the Bible, and the Genocide in Gaza. He also talks about Donald Trump's plan to "take over" Gaza, the importance of using the terms "genocide"… -
178. State Senator Shows How NOT to Read Proverbs
On Tuesday (Feb. 25), a session of the Oklahoma Senate transformed into a spontaneous Bible study. Or perhaps more of a Bible study cosplay demonstrating how not to read the Bible, specifically how not to read the Book of Proverbs. In this episode, Word&Way President Brian Kaylor unpacks the errors in how Proverbs was cited…
![Listen to 187. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver on Faith & Politics [Reissue]](http://images.weserv.nl/?url=static.libsyn.com/p/assets/d/c/4/8/dc48d37e1c129b96d959afa2a1bf1c87/DANGEROUSDOGMA-20250903-9imi1p7mi1.jpg&w=100)
Books
Review: Hope Restored
In “Hope Restored: Biblical Imagination Against Empire,” Walter Brueggemann points us toward understanding hope not as easy optimism but as an honest facing of the unjust structures that human beings have created and a call to lean into Scripture for
Review: The Widening of God’s Mercy
In “The Widening of God’s Mercy: Sexuality Within the Biblical Story,” Christopher B. and Richard B. Hays — son and father — take us on a journey through the Bible, helping us gain a better perspective on God and LGBTQ+
Review & Giveaway: The Contemporary Black Church
Sociologist Jason Shelton’s new book explains what has happened — and is happening — in ways that call for revising how we perceive the Black Church as an institution and social force.
Review: Ministers of Propaganda
In "Ministers of Propaganda: Truth, Power, and the Ideology of the Religious Right," Scott Coley trains a critical eye on the fusion of evangelicalism and right-wing politics.