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A federal judge recently ordered the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to report about any protected church where it has conducted an immigration enforcement action. But the agency told the court it had no idea how many incidents there may be, insisting it had no reasonable way to check its own records.

RNS found at least 25 immigrant pastors were detained, deported or otherwise separated from their churches. While Rev. Esdras Paredes ministers via video, his congregation sells tamales to raise funds and prays for a miracle.

Pope Leo XIV once again stressed that God does not promote war and called for the protection of human dignity and life, during the last day of his papal visit to France on Monday (Sept. 28).

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Church

A national, faith-based movement called “Guns to Gardens” has the goal of getting guns off the streets and giving people a safe way to dispose of them.

As a Christian minister with a Muslim father and a mother of Jewish heritage, Bishop Adam Shoemaker hopes to use his background to facilitate more reconciliation, integration, and 'the understanding that we are inextricably linked.'

Eighty religious plaintiffs from 11 major faith traditions have joined lawsuits challenging the Trump administration’s immigration policies, according to a tracker developed by RNS with the Law, Rights, and Religion Project.

Nation

A group of Reformed pastors and influencers has wedded old-school segregationist theology with the hypermasculinity of the manosphere and the savvy of the attention economy to preach and sell White supremacy, antisemitism, and patriarchy to angry young men. Its audience is small but growing, and their movement has ties to powerful religious and political figures.

Trump administration lawyers have argued a key component of the IRS political campaign activity ban (also often called the “Johnson Amendment”) should not apply to churches. They've asked an appeals court to overturn a lower court decision dismissing a lawsuit challenging the ban.

The Trump administration set the refugee cap for 2027 at 17,500, the same as this year. That would make it the second year in a row of historically low admissions — made up primarily of White South Africans.

World

As Israeli settler violence escalates in Taybeh, church leaders and organizations are working to give Palestinian Christians security, jobs, and community support to remain in the Holy Land.

The funding for humanitarian assistance abroad does not appear to include any U.S. based non-Christian groups in the aftermath of USAID's shutdown.

In a corner of west London, an Anglican church is using its proximity to one of the most famous botanical gardens in the world, Kew Gardens, as a reason for a new venture linking theology and nature.

Editorials

Editor-in-Chief Brian Kaylor reflects on the Christmas narrative in the Gospel of Matthew and an upcoming Christmas program at the Kennedy Center in the aftermath of Donald Trump taking it over.

The remarkable part of the Christmas story is that God decided to come as one of us. The incarnation means Jesus cried out at birth, announcing the breath of life in the one who breathes life into us.

For the first entry in our series this year, Word&Way president and editor-in-chief Brian Kaylor reflects on this week’s theme: Advent in a time of religious nationalism.

Word&Way Voices

A new Netflix series captures the edginess of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s books while also reconsidering the narrative in the face of frontier America’s actual history.

James Talarico’s attempt to make the election about ethos — character, credibility, and integrity — throws a Nolan Ryan fastball at Ken Paxton and MAGA and showcases their departure from 1990s conservative Christianity.

The Israel-U.S.-Iran conflict has seen an appeal to scripture from many of the involved leaders. But the moment God is invoked as argument rather than moral motivation, the willingness to be wrong is surrendered.

E-Newsletter

This issue of A Public Witness takes you through some of the highlights (or, uh, lowlights) of faith appeals at President Donald Trump’s ‘midterm convention.’

This issue of A Public Witness takes you inside a recent conference that celebrated America’s heritage of religious freedom, with a special Seventh-day Adventist flavor.

As the Trump administration claims ‘anti-Christian bias’ under Biden, activists and mainline Protestant denominations are pushing back against ‘church invasions by ICE.’

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Recent Episodes

Books

Philosopher Kent Dunnington invites us to move beyond pop psychology and reclaim a robustly biblical understanding of thanksgiving, one that transforms how we experience life, suffering, and God's generosity.

Scholar Anthony B. Pinn offers a revelatory exploration of what the Bible's underdogs and forgotten figures can teach us about our humanity.

In detailing the evolution of homeschooling in the United States, this book is an enjoyable and enlightening read that challenges preconceptions and invites new, more informed questions.

Author Jerry Zehr, a longtime interfaith leader, draws on his practical wisdom to explore the part of us that refuses to let fear have the final word.