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The superintendent of public instruction, who recently pledged to put a Turning Point USA chapter in every high school to honor Charlie Kirk, will now ‘destroy the teachers unions’ from the private sector.

How do we make sense of our confusing political moment? Scripture is constantly warped to advance purely partisan agendas. The underlying goal is advancing power at seemingly any cost. Luckily, we have a new book that deciphers it all.

Before the memorial service started, two hours of songs from the biggest worship artists today served to frame everything that followed as part of a church service — sending the message that Kirk’s politics were from God.

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Church

‘In light of our church’s steadfast commitment to racial justice and reconciliation and our historic ties with the Anglican Church of Southern Africa, we are not able to take this step,’ the presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church said in a letter.

A long-simmering dispute over a proposed homeless shelter at a New Jersey church turned ugly last week, as leaders of Toms River voted to try to seize the church’s property.

The Southern Baptist Convention lost 259,090 members in 2024 — the 18th consecutive year of membership decline — according to the denomination’s Annual Church Profile report, released Wednesday.

Nation

A federal judge temporarily halted a law requiring public schools to display a version of the Ten Commandments in every classroom, echoing faith leaders and others who argue the statute violates the First Amendment.

This issue of A Public Witness recommends two films and one miniseries exploring important issues of Christian Nationalism and religious abuse.

Sixteen volumes go missing after a Kentucky church urges members to check out then never return library books about LGBTQ+ people.

World

The pro-Palestinian creche is intended to point out the disconnect between the idealized Bethlehem of most representations and the reality in present-day Gaza and the West Bank.

Notre Dame’s journey from ruin to resurrection was defined by extraordinary craftsmanship, nearly $1 billion in global donations, and a collective, unyielding determination to rebuild.

After police indicted 37 individuals, including a Catholic priest, evangelical Christian supporters of the right-wing former president called the investigation an effort by the current president to persecute Brazil's conservatives.

Editorials

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.

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.

Editor Brian Kaylor writes that even even as we return to a “normal” in the upcoming months as vaccinations roll out, he hopes churches do so while building on the lessons learned during this time of social distancing and virtual life.

Word&Way Voices

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.

Palestinian journalist Daoud Kuttab documents how a leading evangelical group recently took a bold step away from pro-Trump American evangelicals.

Contributing writer Sarah Blackwell reflects on ancient understandings of the heart and how they relate to our modern grief.

E-Newsletter

This issue of A Public Witness offers short highlights from four reflections by Catholic writers on Pope Francis and his papacy.

This issue of A Public Witness explores the “Let Freedom Ring!” initiative’s remembrance of the past, which also serves as a warning about contemporary tyrannical threats.

For years, Rev. Shannon Fleck has been challenging Christian Nationalists in Oklahoma. Now, she’s ready to mobilize on the national level.

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Recent Episodes

Books

In the face of a rising threat to both church and democracy, “Baptizing America: How Mainline Protestants Helped Build Christian Nationalism” exposes the undercurrents of a dangerous ideology.

In "The Scandal of Leadership: Unmasking the Powers of Domination in the Church," JR Woodward outlines why church leaders often fail and offers a robust theology of power.

This issue of A Public Witness addresses the ways in which American Christians are part of the problem as explored in “The Religion of Whiteness: How Racism Distorts Christian Faith.”

In “Christmaker: A Life of John the Baptist,” esteemed New Testament scholar James F. McGrath turns his critical eye to overlooked details in Scripture and long-neglected sources to discover who this influential figure really was.