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The Religious Liberty Commission is filled almost entirely by conservative Christians, and its new 224-page document urges stronger support for this particular strand of Christianity in the government.

Texas' education board on Friday approved a required bible study for more than 5 million public school students, widening Republican efforts to bring conservative Christian teachings into U.S. classrooms.

Nearly half of Americans who left religion cite the mistreatment or rejection of LGBTQ+ people as an important reason. But how do the LGBTQ+ people who stay find healing?

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Church

The decision was attributed to Asbury’s objections to the new version of the denomination’s social principles that no longer solely affirm heterosexual marriage.

Southern Baptists have long believed that only men can be pastors. But for decades, the denomination took no action to expel churches where women pastors served. Then, in the middle of an abuse controversy, it became a denominational crisis.

With the Supreme Court set to rule on whether Haitians will lose Temporary Protected Status, fear is emptying church pews. At St. Elizabeth's Episcopal Church in Elizabeth, New Jersey, the Haitian immigrants who brought life to the congregation are gone.

Nation

Jonathan Morris, a former priest and current Fox News commentator, and Washington Nationals pitcher Trevor Williams led the service in Pete Hegseth’s absence.

The chosen readings, to be voted on by the State Board of Education, draw heavily from Christian perspectives.

Jackson Lahmeyer, who founded Pastors for Trump and leads Sheridan Church in Tulsa, exchanged thousands of romantic text messages with a woman who is not his wife.

World

The Greek Orthodox leader expects to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin later this month.

‘The old city is not merely a residential area,’ the clergy said in a statement. ‘It is the historical and human heart of Tyre, home to thousands of civilians, including families, children, and the elderly.’

Among the hundreds of objects already found: a fourth-century coin stamped with the face of the Emperor Constantine, and shards of medieval pottery painted on the inside with marks no expert has yet deciphered.

Editorials

Editor-in-Chief Brian Kaylor responds to Doug Wilson’s defense of Pete Hegseth holding Christian worship services in the Pentagon, including the one Wilson preached at earlier this month.

After President Donald Trump rambled, lied, and cursed for 77 minutes at the National Prayer Breakfast, a prominent Christian musician went to the piano to bless it.

In 1845, a group of pro-slavery Baptists created the Southern Baptist Convention to defend enslavers serving as missionaries. One hundred and eighty years later, SBC leaders defend a pastor serving as an ICE leader. Editor-in-Chief Brian Kaylor reflects on this through line.

Word&Way Voices

The desire for a sustainable authoritarianism among MAGA Calvinists, such as the ‘Theobros’ and a coalition of Southern Baptist Reformed leaders, has lovers of democracy sounding the alarm.

Besides being an enjoyable and charming moviegoing experience, the new film — based on a German book called ‘Three Bags Full’ by Leonie Swann — is full of unexpected Christian imagery.

For the inaugural entry in a series on religion and AI, a biblical scholar and ethicist considers what the Christian tradition has to offer this topic — not as a set of answers, but as a way of asking better questions.

E-Newsletter

In his new book, acclaimed sociologist Robert Wuthnow seeks to both illuminate what has been hidden and to add complexity where a story has been too simply told.

The Reformed Church in America is the latest group to speak out against the ideology, with regional United Methodist bodies and two Presbyterian denominations among those also addressing the issue this summer.

After complaints by Mormon politicians, a revised list of recognized religions now excludes denominations like the Disciples of Christ and United Church of Christ — whose churches boast membership among the founding fathers.

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Books

For readers yearning for creative approaches to faith reconstruction, Tiffany Yecke Brooks points the way toward new and deeply meaningful encounters with God.

For this issue of A Public Witness, we offer our fifth annual list of books recommended by Word&Way writers that will be perfect for wherever you find your happy place this summer.

Author and pastor MaryAnn McKibben Dana delivers a powerful critique of society’s restrictive expectations while offering a transformative vision for human flourishing.

Matthew Sutton’s expansive new book is the perfect resource for understanding what the United States has been over the past 250 years, not what some people wish it would be.