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Review: Reading the Bible on Turtle Island
Indigenous scholars Chris Hoklotubbe and Danny Zacharias explore what it means to read the Bible from the lens of Indigenous peoples in North America.
Review & Giveaway: Furious Minds
Political theorist Laura Field provides an intellectual tour of the MAGA New Right, a movement that has twice carried Donald Trump into the White House.
Prayer App Hallow Faces Backlash Over Lenten Partnership With Tucker Carlson
Some Christian users said they planned to stop using Hallow because of its partnership with Carlson, while others praised the collaboration. Multiple users called for boycotts of the app and other sponsors.
Church
Calvin Robinson, Dismissed for Nazi-Like Salute, Has Priestly License Rescinded, Again
Robinson responded in an Instagram story, saying that ‘perhaps God is sending me a message.’
Can the SBC’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission Survive Trump 2.0?
Years of controversy during the Trump era have some Southern Baptists arguing that the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission is more trouble than it is worth.
Forced Out of His Pulpit Weeks After Trump’s Election, He’s Starting His Own Church
Ben Boswell promises his new church will ‘dismantle systems of oppression and create justice, equity, and freedom for everybody — for all people.’
Nation
Faith Groups Join Other Death Penalty Opponents in New Campaign
The new initiative points to an increase in the use of the death penalty over the past year as public support for it has fallen in the United States.
In Minneapolis, Clergy Mobilize to Manage Expected ICE Raids Targeting Somali Immigrants
Preparing for ICE agents’ presence in the city, an interfaith coalition shared best practices for dealing with law enforcement at houses of worship.
The Trump Administration’s Favorite Fake Prayer Story
This issue of A Public Witness looks at the truth behind the Christian Nationalist fable of George Washington praying at Valley Forge.
World
Members of Shuttered Rwandan Churches Gather in Homes as Leaders Quietly Protest
After a crackdown on unapproved churches, Christian leaders say the government's move encroaches on religious freedom and applies regulations unequally.
Pope Opens Asia Odyssey With Stop in Indonesia to Rally Catholics, Hail Religious Freedom Tradition
The first stop is an interfaith meeting with representatives of the six religions that are officially recognized in the world’s largest Muslim country: Islam, Buddhism, Confucianism, Hinduism, Catholicism, and Protestantism.
When a Dictator Quotes the Bible
This issue of A Public Witness treks to Latin America to consider the dangers arising from the political co-opting of sacred texts.
Editorials
We Need Just Mercy
Why should a person be punished because our lawmakers were slow to recognize their error? If a sentence is wrong, then it is wrong. We shouldn’t measure truth or justice by a calendar.
Refusing the King’s Food
Daniel knew the danger of refusing an order from the king. But Daniel knew he must do what's right, regardless of the social pressures or the political consequences.
Faith in an Age of Elmer Gantrys
On a recent road trip, I listened to Elmer Gantry by Sinclair Lewis. I’d heard the lead character, Elmer Gantry, used as an insult about fraudulent clergy, Soon I heard something that almost caused me to swerve off the highway.
Word&Way Voices
Sitting at the Adult Table
Contributing writer Sarah Blackwell explores 'hidden' stories that stood right next to the biblical scriptures as having a valuable word to say about who we are as a people of faith.
The False Prophets of a Failed Insurrection
The story of this former youth pastor and Jan. 6 insurrectionist is worth highlighting because his more recent words show a person facing the prospect of prison and also now confronting the notion that he was duped by his religious elders.
Ted Cruz’s ‘Boomerang’ Rhetoric Problem
Contributing writer Rodney Kennedy explores how recent rhetoric from Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas surrounding 'illegitimacy' reveals broader stakes for democratic deliberation.
E-Newsletter
‘Baptizing America’ Wins Top Award From Religion Communicators Council
Our ‘A Public Witness’ newsletter also garners two Best in Class awards in the Specialized Writing and Artwork categories, and Unsettling Advent wins top editorial series for the fourth straight year.
Review & Giveaway: Blessed Minds
A congregational pastor who also serves as the UCC’s Minister for Disabilities and Mental Health Justice, Sarah Griffith Lund has long been a voice helping Christians gently and wisely wrestle with neurodiversity.
The Fight for the Empty Tomb
This issue of A Public Witness explores an intra-Catholic Easter weekend as well as multiple Easter sermons from progressive ministers around the United States.
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The State of the Senate, from SC to ME to TX to KS
This episode of Dangerous Dogma features a conversation between Word&Way Editor Brian Kaylor, Lutheran minister and journalist Angela Denker, and Disciples pastor and author Beau Underwood. The conversation includes discussion about the death of Sen. Lindsey Graham as well as issues of faith and morality in Senate races in Maine, Texas, and Kansas. You can… -
Southern Baptists, the Pentagon, & UFC
This episode of Dangerous Dogma features a conversation between Word&Way Editor Brian Kaylor, Lutheran minister and journalist Angela Denker, and Disciples pastor and author Beau Underwood. The conversation includes discussion about the Southern Baptist Convention's push against women in ministry, the Pentagon changing how it codes the faith of military members, and the latest in… -
Southern Baptists, Women in Ministry, & a Billboard
In this episode, Word&Way President Brian Kaylor talks with Meredith Stone, executive director of Baptist Women in Ministry. The conversation includes discussion of efforts in the Southern Baptist Convention to further target women serving in churches and how BWIM is advocating for women (including with a billboard to greet SBC messengers next week in Orlando,… -
Divergent Visions for Rededicating the Nation
This episode of Dangerous Dogma features a conversation between Word&Way Editor Brian Kaylor, Lutheran minister and journalist Angela Denker, and Disciples pastor and author Beau Underwood. The conversation includes discussion about Rededicate 250, gerrymandering, Adam Hamilton's Senate campaign in Kansas, and the MAHA movement. You can watch a video version of the conversation here. Here are a few pieces… -
The Christian Past That Wasn't
In this episode, Word&Way President Brian Kaylor talks with Warren Throckmorton, a retired professor who has spent years debunking false claims by Christian Nationalist pseudo-historian David Barton. Throckmorton is the author of the new book, The Christian Past that Wasn't: Debunking the Christian Nationalist Myths that Hijack History. You can watch a video version of… -
Trump vs. Leo
This episode of Dangerous Dogma features a conversation between Word&Way Editor Brian Kaylor, Lutheran minister and journalist Angela Denker, and Disciples pastor and author Beau Underwood. The conversation includes discussion about President Donald Trump's attacks on Pope Leo XIV, Leo's witness against the Iran war, Trump's AI image of himself as Jesus, and the electoral… -
Fight Like Jesus with Jason Porterfield (Reissue)
In this episode, Word&Way President Brian Kaylor talks with Jason Porterfield about his book Fight Like Jesus: How Jesus Waged Peace. This episode originally aired in 2023, except for a new introduction noting a violent prayer by Pete Hegseth during a recent Pentagon worship service and Palm Sunday comments by Pope Leo XIV. Note: Don't forget… -
Pete Hegseth's Crusader Bible (A Trick of State)
In this episode, Word&Way President Brian Kaylor considers Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth's use of the English Standard Version of the Bible, patriarchy in the faith communities Hegseth has been a part of, and his Christian Nationalism. It also reveals that Hegseth's ESV Bible includes two Crusader symbols stamped onto the cover (and that match… -
An Unholy War
This episode of Dangerous Dogma features a conversation between Word&Way Editor Brian Kaylor, Lutheran minister and journalist Angela Denker, and Disciples pastor and author Beau Underwood. The conversation includes discussion about the Iran war, Christian opposition to the war, and viral claims of military leaders claiming this will bring "Armageddon." It also includes consideration of… -
Rewriting the Ten Commandments (A Trick of State)
In this episode, Word&Way President Brian Kaylor looks at legislation across the country that purports to want the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms. But the version mandated by lawmakers cannot be found in any Bible. Kaylor unpacks where the edited language came from, why such legislation is an attack on religious liberty, and the…
Books
Review: Pluralism in Practice
In "Pluralism in Practice: Case Studies of Leadership in a Religiously Diverse America," Elinor J. Pierce invites close reading, reflection, and discussion on the dilemmas and disputes of our multireligious society.
Review: God’s Monsters
In "God's Monsters: Vengeful Spirits, Deadly Angels, Hybrid Creatures, and Divine Hitmen of the Bible," Esther J. Hamori offers an entertaining deep dive into the creaturely strangeness of scripture.
Review & Giveaway: Defending Democracy From Its Christian Enemies
In his timely new book, noted scholar David Gushee brings his incisive ethical lens to defending democratic commitments and articulating the need for Christians to recommit themselves to its practices.
Review: Every Step Is Home
In "Every Step Is Home: A Spiritual Geography from Appalachia to Alaska," globetrotting travel writer Lori Erickson explores spiritual sites and experiences closer to home.