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Featured
Faith-Based Refugee Resettlement Groups Concerned About Trump Administration’s New Plans
In a status report sought by a federal judge, the Trump administration’s lawyers argued the State Department is not required by law to provide reception and placement benefits to refugees when they arrive in the U.S.
Southern Baptist Lawyers Say the DOJ Investigation Is Over
The investigation cost the SBC's Executive Committee $2 million in legal fees and led to one former Southern Baptist seminary leader pleading guilty to lying to the FBI.
Rebel on Main
Historian David Swartz unpacks his new seven-episode narrative podcast series on conversations in his Kentucky community about a local Confederate statue.
Church
United Methodist Building Celebrates a Century of Presence on Capitol Hill
The building, built in 1923, was funded entirely by women.
Settlement Talks With Johnny Hunt Fail. SBC and Former President Likely Headed to Trial.
A defamation lawsuit filed by Hunt has cost the nation's largest Protestant denomination $3 million so far. A trial date is set for Nov. 12 in Nashville.
After a Crackdown on Sexuality, Two Dozen CRC Churches Head for the Exits
At its 2024 synod in June, the Christian Reformed Church instructed LGBTQ-affirming congregations to repent and comply with the denomination’s beliefs on sexuality. Some are now choosing to leave.
Nation
Wheaton College Caught in Dustup Over Alumnus Russell Vought, Project 2025 Architect
The evangelical college posted, then deleted, a message celebrating Vought’s confirmation as director of the White House Office of Management and Budget.
After Prayer Breakfast, Trump Creates Task Force To Root Out ‘Anti-Christian Bias’
President Donald Trump announced Thursday that he was forming a task force led by Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate the “targeting” of Christians as his administration continues to clash with major Christian groups.
Amid Criticism From Religious Detractors, Vance Speaks at Religious Freedom Summit
The speech came as the Trump administration, just 2 weeks old, is already facing lawsuits arguing that it violated the religious freedom of Christians in the U.S.
World
Surviving Rwanda: God, Remembrance, and Reconciliation on the Genocide’s 30th Anniversary
As painful as it is, many survivors remain committed to remembrance. They are willing to reopen their wounds year after year, hoping that no genocide is ever committed again.
India’s Christian Leaders Work to Convince Modi Government to Curb Attacks
False charges of forced conversion are used to target Christians, who cite attacks on church properties and institutions, the harassment of pastors, and raids on private parties.
A Prominent Myanmar Christian Leader Is Released From Prison for a Second Time in 4 Months
Rev. Hkalam Samson, a human rights advocate from Myanmar’s Kachin ethnic minority, was first arrested in December 2022.
Editorials
Death of My Childhood
Editor Brian Kaylor reflects on the deaths of two individuals he listened to as a teenager: Christian singer Carman and talk radio show host Rush Limbaugh. And Kaylor considers what those formative voices mean for him today.
Remember This Day?
Editor Brian Kaylor reflects on the second impeachment of Donald Trump, the role of religion in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, and biblical stories of Moses and Jesus that offer a different path.
There Should Be No Pandemic Privilege for Religion
Houses of worship should not be hit with harsher pandemic rules than similar organizations. But religious gatherings should not be exempt from the same life-saving health rules to which similar gatherings are subjected. Simply put, there shouldn’t be a pandemic privilege for religion.
Word&Way Voices
Unsettling Advent 2023, Day 20
Azar Ajaj, president of Nazareth Evangelical College, brings our attention to overlooked Middle Eastern Christians as instruments that God is using to bring peace to the region.
Unsettling Advent 2023, Day 19
Christmas reminds us it is precisely in the midst of the darkness of hatred that it is time for love to be born.
Unsettling Advent 2023, Day 18
What does it mean to enter the Christmas story anew in these moments, as so many are desperate for God’s saving presence? To wrestle with this question is to live into this sacred season.
E-Newsletter
The Mirage of Evangelicals for Harris
This issue of A Public Witness looks at the failed efforts to convert White evangelicals in the ballot box and what it means going forward.
Another Year of Unsettling Advent for Our Unsettling Time
We’re excited to announce that Unsettling Advent is returning with new themes: rulers clinging to power, dangerous pregnancies, and violence in Lebanon.
Christian Nationalism Had a Good Night
While Donald Trump’s win understandingly dominates the headlines, it’s also important to consider the results in the numerous other federal, state, and local races.
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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… -
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… -
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… -
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… -
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… -
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…
Books
Review & Giveaway: Work Pray Code
Carolyn Chen’s "Work Pray Code: When Work Becomes Religion in Silicon Valley" explores how work has displaced religion in so many people’s lives. If we can’t serve both God and mammon, it feels like a lot of people have chosen
Review: The Gospel According to James Baldwin
In "The Gospel According to James Baldwin: What America's Great Prophet Can Teach Us About Life, Love, and Identity," Greg Garrett invites new readers and longtime lovers of the great writer into a thoughtful exploration of his continued relevance.
Our 2023 Books of the Year
For this issue of A Public Witness, Brian and Beau briefly highlight 15 of their favorite books beyond those from our monthly giveaway reviews.
Review: Unexpected Abundance
In "Unexpected Abundance: The Fruitful Lives of Women Without Children," Episcopal priest Elizabeth Felicetti deepens our understanding of the many ways to be fruitful.