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Featured
Catholic Bishops End Refugee Aid Partnerships With US Government, Citing Funding Cuts
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops is ending a half-century of partnerships serving refugees and migrant children, saying the “heartbreaking” decision follows the Trump administration’s abrupt halt to funding.
Pennsylvania Faith Groups Build Altar at ICE Office in Protest of Immigration Arrests
The clergy-led gathering stood in defiance of ICE policies, drawing on shared interfaith values and representing Jewish, Mennonite, Catholic, Baptist, and Unitarian congregations.
Shannon Fleck, Who Took On Christian Nationalists in Oklahoma, Named Faithful America Leader
Fleck, a former probation officer turned pastor, was one of the leading voices against efforts to put Trump Bibles in schools.
Church
Churches Consider What Sanctuary Might Look Like in Trump’s Second Term
The news that Trump may rescind a policy discouraging immigration officials from arresting people at churches is making some church leaders reconsider sanctuary.
Winter Solstice Is Having a Moment — in Churches, Too
In mainline Christian circles, winter solstice celebrations and longest night services are growing in popularity.
Pennsylvania’s Bethlehem: The City Founded by Moravians on Christmas Eve Keeps Its Traditions Alive
The Moravian Church is one of the world's oldest Protestant denominations. Its name comes from the historical provinces of Bohemia and Moravia in what is now the Czech Republic.
Nation
Setting the Standard for Christian Nationalism in Schools
This issue of A Public Witness cracks opens the books to study problems with the new social studies standards where the wind comes sweepin’ down the plain.
Survey: US Religious Groups Support LGBTQ+ Rights, Divide on Medical Care for Trans Minors
Most US religious groups remain broadly supportive of non-discrimination laws and policies toward LGBTQ+ people. Far fewer support gender-transition medical care for minors.
Trump Admin Cancels Grants to Refugee Aid Agencies, Despite Legal Battles
Leaders of the faith-based refugee resettlement organizations, which constitute seven of the 10 groups that partner with the government to perform the task, condemned the decision.
World
Their Churches No Longer Feel Safe. Now Nicaraguans Are Taking Their Worship Home
Several evangelical pastors, Catholic priests, and human rights organizations have denounced the surveillance, harassment, and the imprisonment of Nicaraguan faith leaders in recent years.
African Faith Leaders and Environmentalists Push for Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty
An event advocating for the treaty was organized as part of the Season of Creation, an event observed annually by Christian denominations and Christian climate activists from Sept. 1 to Oct. 4.
Remembering Jesus Amid Drumbeats of War
This issue of A Public Witness reflects on the current escalation of violent hostilities between Israel and Lebanon and the historic Christian population caught in the crossfire.
Editorials
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.
Al Mohler’s Religion
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.
Reject Preachers Jabbing Us with Falsehoods
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.
Word&Way Voices
A Palestinian Christian Plea for Compassion in Gaza
Levant Ministries CEO Dr. Fares Abraham makes the case that the Christian call for benevolence should not be contingent upon the intricacies of politics or theological disagreements.
The Candid Gospel
Contributing writer Sarah Blackwell considers the religious implications of rare photos that capture in-between moments — when we do not know someone is watching — in which our lives are truly lived.
Jerusalem: Holy Fire Spread to the World
Lauren Draper of Churches for Middle East Peace reflects on attending an ancient ceremony marking Orthodox Easter alongside Palestinian Christians in the midst of harsh restrictions from Israeli authorities.
E-Newsletter
Prominent DC Churches Shift Approach — Somewhat — to Trump Inauguration
This issue of A Public Witness considers the upcoming prayer services for the presidential inauguration and the problems with access spirituality.
How Churches Helped Build and Give Away the Panama Canal
While Trump fantasizes about retaking the waterway, this issue of A Public Witness digs into American colonialism and the roles Christian leaders and denominations played.
The Surprising Story of How Speaker Johnson Read a Fake Jefferson Prayer
Like a decades-long game of telephone, the tale takes many twists — with appearances by George Washington, an Episcopal convention in Missouri, a promoter of Christian Nationalism at a group now trying to debunk the claim, a Catholic newspaper in New York, a library heist, and a Presbyterian chaplain.
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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…Audio Player
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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…Audio Player
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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…Audio Player
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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…Audio Player
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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"…Audio Player
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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…Audio Player
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177. Countering Sean Feucht with Karrie Gaspard-Hogewood
In this episode, Word&Way President Brian Kaylor talks with Karrie Gaspard-Hogewood, a sociology doctoral fellow at Tulane University, about a protest march she organized to counter an event by Christian Nationalistic musician Sean Feucht in New Orleans on Feb. 8, 2025. You can learn more about Feucht at A Public Witness, including reports on his…Audio Player
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176. Paul Raushenbush & Trump's Targeting of Christians
In this episode, Word&Way President Brian Kaylor talks with Rev. Paul Raushenbush, president and CEO of Interfaith Alliance, about various ways the Trump administration has targeted Christian groups, including Episcopalians, Catholics, and Lutherans. You can read more about the recent attacks on Lutheran charity work in a report at A Public Witness and in a memo from…Audio Player
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175. Mariann Budde, John Danforth, & Prophetic Preaching
In this episode, Word&Way President Brian Kaylor talks with John Danforth, a former U.S. Senator and Episcopal priest, about the controversy over Episcopal Bishop Mariann Budde's sermon during an inauguration prayer service at the Washington National Cathedral. You can read more about the issue at A Public Witness, including a report on the sermon, a look…Audio Player
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174. Joe Blosser on To Love Our Neighbors
Joe Blosser talks with Word&Way President Brian Kaylor about her new book To Love Our Neighbors: Radical Practices in Solidarity, Sufficiency, and Sustainability. He also discusses understandings of how a neighbor is, church food pantries, and economic neoliberalism. Note: Don't forget to subscribe to our award-winning e-newsletter A Public Witness that helps you make sense…Audio Player
Books
Review: A Faith of Many Rooms
In "A Faith of Many Rooms: Inhabiting a More Spacious Christianity," Debie Thomas takes readers on a deeply personal and profoundly theological odyssey.
Review & Giveaway: Ministers of Propaganda
This issue of A Public Witness explores what Scott Coley’s forthcoming book “Ministers of Propaganda: Truth, Power, and the Ideology of the Religious Right” reveals about the antidote to Christo-authoritarianism.
Review: A Quilted Life
In "A Quilted Life: Reflections of a Sharecropper’s Daughter," Catherine Meeks describes the adventures and adversity she encountered on her path to becoming an empowered voice for change.
Review: Jingjiao
In "Jingjiao: The Earliest Christian Church in China," Glen L. Thompson introduces readers to the surprising history of the early Eastern church — referred to as Jingjiao, or the Luminous Teaching.