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The CEO of the Public Religion Research Institute makes the case that there is simply no evidence to suggest Americans are becoming more religious, either in their affiliation with a particular faith tradition or in terms of attending religious services more regularly.

The encounter between Christianity’s two most famous religious figures would have been unthinkable just a few years ago, given the divisions between their two churches over women’s ordination.

A court of appeals ruling just overturned Supreme Court precedent on posting the Ten Commandments in public schools — and the majority opinion conscripted a legendary colonial Baptist figure who fought for church-state separation to justify their actions.

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Church

The Southern Baptist Convention meeting this week in Dallas will also consider a proposed ban on churches with women pastors.

His books were influential primarily with clergy, but through their sermons Brueggeman’s concepts have become familiar to many churchgoers.

Though much of the discussion and Scripture readings focused on love and peace, the current state of politics was also on the minds of speakers.

Nation

Coverage of Thursday’s event has largely focused on Trump’s rambling remarks — but the much more problematic and dangerous comments actually came later from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

This issue of A Public Witness explores biblical ‘peacemaker’ rhetoric from the Trump administration and how it wildly misrepresents what Jesus actually taught.

Monday’s ruling came just over 24 hours before TPS status was set to expire for some 350,000 Haitians. The U.S. district judge wrote that DHS Secretary Noem’s ‘approach is many things—in the public interest is not one of them.’

World

Surf Church was established by an ordained Baptist pastor to spread the Gospel in a once-devoutly Catholic country where about half of young people today say they have no religion.

The Salvation Army is exploiting a connection to the Beatles to draw more visitors to fund its mission and encourage people who would never consider stepping inside a church to find out about Christianity.

A large majority of Ukrainians are Orthodox, but they are divided between two main groups with similar names: the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and the Orthodox Church of Ukraine.

Editorials

(WW) — A recent CNN piece explored how contemporary Christian music largely ignores contemporary moral concerns. But one line in the piece particularly caught my eye — and not in a good way.

Imagine a world where Christians — both those running for office and those just planning to vote — actually applied the Golden Rule. With that goal in mind, Baptist and other denominational leaders are calling for Christians to act Christlike, even in political conversations.

There’s a fascinating, oft - overlooked parable in Judges 9. It might be one of the most profound teachings about political power and who we trust to rule found in the scriptures.

Word&Way Voices

Rev. Dr. Mae Elise Cannon, executive director of Churches for Middle East Peace, offers this first entry in our week exploring the theme of Advent during a time of bloodshed in Israel.

Rev. Nathan Empsall, executive director of Faithful America, writes that we begin to calm our anxieties only when we learn to accept the presence of divine mystery in our lives.

Rev. Janna Louie, chief of staff for the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty, reflects on Psalm 80 and how anxieties can be transformed by collective grief and lament.

E-Newsletter

This issue of A Public Witness explores which recent presidents actually talked about Jesus in their public remarks and what it means for protecting religious liberty.

This issue of A Public Witness takes us inside MAGA merchandise shops in Branson, Missouri, to explore some surprising theological messages that mix partisan politics with the worship of violence.

The oldest interdenominational religious press association in the U.S. also gave four awards to Word&Way, including two first place honors for A Public Witness.

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Recent Episodes

Books

In "Eucharist and Unity: A Theological Memoir," Keith Watkins offers a personal angle on the interrelated themes of ecumenism, modern American religious history, practical theology, and communion.

In "Saving Faith: How American Christianity Can Reclaim Its Prophetic Voice," Randall Balmer argues that any attempt to arrest the decline of Christianity in America must first reckon with the past.

In "Religious Liberty in a Polarized Age," author Thomas C. Berg makes the case that religious freedom for all is part of the cure for our political division.

This issue of A Public Witness explores Andrew Whitehead’s compelling new book "American Idolatry: How Christian Nationalism Betrays the Gospel and Threatens the Church."