Sign up to receive full essays in your inbox!
Featured
While MAGA Preachers Cheer, Mainline Protestants Strongly Condemn Attack on Venezuela
This issue of A Public Witness looks at criticism of the Trump administration’s actions in Venezuela by various Christian denominations and organizations, as well as pleas for peace by Venezuelan Christian leaders.
US Faith Leaders Supporting Targeted Immigrants Brace for a Tough Year Ahead
President Trump has become harsher with his contemptuous rhetoric and policy proposals, blaming immigrants for problems from crime to housing shortages and demanding “REVERSE MIGRATION.”
Joy Moore Steps Down As Northern Seminary President After Months of Confusion Over Status
School officials say a misunderstanding and distrust led to Moore's departure.
Church
The Rev. David Black’s ICE Protest Arises From His Chicago Church’s Long Tradition
‘I’m seeing almost a revival of Christianity through what’s happening at Broadview in Chicago,’ said Rev. David Black, a Presbyterian Church (USA) minister.
Virginia’s Episcopal Bishop Says Diocese Identified Sources for $10M Reparations Fund
The announcement came after former Racial Reparations Task Force members expressed doubts over the diocese’s commitment to deliver on its 2021 promise and uncertainty about its ability to secure funding.
American Baptist Leaders Praise Clergy Protesting ICE
Leaders of the American Baptist Home Mission Societies issued a statement Tuesday (Nov. 18) offering support for clergy who have been arrested while protesting ICE, including an American Baptist pastor in the Chicago area.
Nation
White Christian Clergy Running for Congress As Democrats Face Skeptics in Their Own Party
At least six white clergy and one seminarian — some from evangelical Christian backgrounds and others from mainline Protestant denominations — have declared to run as Democrats in 2026.
Why Do Some People Stay in Their Religion and Others Leave? A New Pew Report Has Some Clues.
Americans who had a good experience as children were likely to keep their faith. Those with bad experiences left, according to a new study from Pew Research Center.
Department of Labor Holds First Prayer Service
This issue of A Public Witness takes you inside a very Catholic governmental Christmas celebration that also featured a Trumpian rabbi commemorating Hanukkah.
World
Samaritan’s Purse to Play a Larger Role in Gaza Aid Distribution
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation is being phased out, said Samaritan's Purse CEO Franklin Graham. Johnnie Moore, the evangelical PR guru who has served as GHF chairman, recently stepped down.
A US Senator Claims ‘Christian Mass Murder’ Is Occurring in Nigeria. The Data Disagrees
U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz has been trying to rally fellow evangelical Christians and urge Congress to designate Nigeria as a violator of religious freedom with unfounded claims.
This Is Why the Story of Abraham Is Coming Up in the Push for Middle East Peace
Anyone trying to build a bridge between faiths is liable to invoke Abraham — revered as a founding figure in Christianity, Islam, and Judaism — as someone they hold in common.
Editorials
Unsettling Advent 2024, Day 20
Exploring Advent in a time of violence in Lebanon, Brian Kaylor reflects on how history shows us that even mighty empires won’t last forever.
When Caesar Proclaims ‘Peace on Earth’
Editor-in-Chief Brian Kaylor reflects on the meaning of peace declared by the heavenly host on that first Christmas in light of a “Let There Be Peace On Earth” Christmas decoration at the White House.
Unsettling Advent 2024, Day 11
Exploring Advent in a time of dangerous pregnancies, Brian Kaylor reflects on how powerful leaders often seek ways to make women’s journey difficult.
Word&Way Voices
Unsettling Advent 2025, Day 16
As Christmas nears, may we continue to not run away from seeing the injustices in our communities. But hold that in tension with the joy that we should all be feeling as we anticipate Jesus’s birth.
Unsettling Advent 2025, Day 15
To launch our week reflecting on Advent in a time of soldiers in the streets, Rev. Jorge Bautista writes about getting shot in the face with a pepper round by a U.S. immigration agent while at a peaceful prayer vigil in Oakland, California.
Unsettling Advent 2025, Day 14
Despite the tough-on-crime adage that prisoners enjoy 'three hots and a cot' during their time behind bars, this paints far too rosy a picture of the meager portions of low-quality and ultra-processed foods available.
E-Newsletter
Review & Giveaway: Thriving Church & Holy Disruption
Two recent books, each co-authored by two pastors, offer insight to church leaders who feel stuck and congregations struggling to muster hope in a time where maintaining a successful religious community is more difficult than ever.
Christ the Christian Nationalist Sunday?
This issue of A Public Witness looks at the not-so-immaculate conception of Christ the King Sunday and the theological conflict today between different visions of Christ as King.
No Amazon for Advent
The Center on Faith & Justice at Georgetown University recently launched a campaign encouraging people to pledge not to shop on Amazon during this Advent season — and A Public Witness is one of the official partners.
-
196. Martha Bardwell on Faith Communities Responding to ICE in Minneapolis
In this episode, Word&Way President Brian Kaylor talks with Martha Bardwell, pastor of Our Saviour's Lutheran Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on how faith communities are responding to ICE violence in the Twin Cities and the ICE killing of Renee Good. Watch a video version of this latest conversation here. The episode includes a discussion on… -
195. Attacking Venezuela & Gambling on Jesus
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 consideration of the U.S. attack on Venezuela and how Christians are responding, Pete Hegseth's pledge to change the military chaplaincy program, and how people are now… -
194. Dangers of Faith in the Pentagon & AI in Faith
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 consideration of U.S. strikes against Venezuelan boats, Pete Hegseth's Christian prayer services at the Pentagon, the use of AI in churches, and alarms about AI Christian… -
193. News Roundup: Elections, Government Shutdown, & Clergy Challenging ICE
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 consideration of religious attacks in elections this week, impacts of the ongoing government shutdown on churches, and clergy protesting against ICE. Watch a video version of… -
192. Hannah Kardon, United Methodist Pastor Arrested During Anti-ICE Protest
In this episode, Word&Way President Brian Kaylor talks with Hannah Kardon, a United Methodist minister in the Chicago area. Kardon was violently arrested during a protest outside an ICE facility on Oct. 17. Video of the incident can be viewed here. Other issues discussed in this episode include ICE actions at churches, the legal pushback… -
191. William Stell on Evangelicals & Antigay Christianity
In this episode, Word&Way President Brian Kaylor talks with William Stell, a religious studies professor and author of the forthcoming book, Born Again Queer: A History of Evangelical Gay Activism and the Making of Antigay Christianity. Kaylor is also joined by guest cohost Jared Burkholder, scholar in residence at Moravian Theological Seminary. This is the… -
190. Angela Parker on Evangelicals, Biblical Interpretation, & White Supremacy
In this episode, Word&Way President Brian Kaylor talks with Angela Parker, an associate professor of New Testament and Greek at the McAfee School of Theology at Mercer University, the author of If God Still Breathes, Why Can't I?: Black Lives Matter and Biblical Authority, and coauthor of the Unsettling Lent devotional. This is the second… -
189. Randall Balmer on Evangelicals & Church-State Separation
In this episode, Word&Way President Brian Kaylor talks with Randall Balmer, a historian of American religion and author of the new book, America's Best Idea: The Separation of Church and State. Kaylor is also joined by guest cohost Jared Burkholder, scholar in residence at Moravian Theological Seminary. This is the first in a three-part series… -
188. Brian Kaylor on The Bible According to Christian Nationalists (with guest host Beau Underwood)
In this episode, guest host Beau Underwood interviews Word&Way President Brian Kaylor about his new book The Bible According to Christian Nationalists: Exploiting Scripture for Political Power. You can watch a video version of this conversation on YouTube. Note: Don't forget to subscribe to our award-winning e-newsletter A Public Witness that helps you make sense… -
187. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver on Faith & Politics [Reissue]
In this episode originally recorded in 2021, Word&Way President Brian Kaylor talks with Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.) about faith and politics as a United Methodist minister and U.S. congressman. Cleaver also discusses his experience on Jan. 6, attacks on voting rights, and what gives him hope. First released four years ago, this episode is being…
![Listen to 187. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver on Faith & Politics [Reissue]](http://images.weserv.nl/?url=static.libsyn.com/p/assets/d/c/4/8/dc48d37e1c129b96d959afa2a1bf1c87/DANGEROUSDOGMA-20250903-9imi1p7mi1.jpg&w=100)
Books
Review: Rooted in Faith and Justice
As the world’s attention is on the devastation of Gaza, this book offers a powerful and enlightening perspective through the eyes of Palestinian Christian leaders and thinkers.
Out in the World
With the weaponization of Scripture regularly making headline news, “The Bible According to Christian Nationalists” officially releases today to point to better ways of reading and applying sacred texts.
Review: The Bible According to Christian Nationalists
In this new book, Brian Kaylor exposes the ways Christian Nationalism distorts scripture through seven different problematic approaches to interpreting and applying the biblical text.
Review: Rereading Revelation
Greg Carey, scholar of the New Testament and apocalyptic literature, invites readers to reconsider the Book of Revelation as a text that can speak meaningfully to contemporary resistance movements.