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Contributing writer Sarah Blackwell reflects on how we might treat each other differently if we literally wore our hearts on our sleeves.

A new Bible-infused curriculum would be optional for kindergarten through fifth grade, one of the latest Republican-led efforts to incorporate religious teachings into public school classrooms.

Editor-in-Chief Brian Kaylor reflects on Speaker Mike Johnson working to cover up a House Ethics Committee report on former Rep. Matt Gaetz after President-elect Donald Trump nominated Gaetz to serve as U.S. attorney general.

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Videos

Church

The Executive Committee, which oversees the SBC's operations between meetings of the convention's governing body, has been without a permanent leader since 2021.

The Progressive National Baptist Convention, the denominational home of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., publicly endorsed calls for a ceasefire in Israel-Gaza on Monday.

Revelations about the decadeslong abuse by a prominent SBC leader have led to fears that the denomination's sex-abuse reforms are doomed to fail.

Nation

White evangelical Protestants are the religious group most likely to score high on the Public Religion Research Institute’s Right-Wing Authoritarianism Scale.

The ways Midwest Lutherans live that faith in the public sphere — on social and political hot-button issues — can be as different as a marshmallow-topped hotdish from a prickly pear cactus salad.

The viral racist rumors are being fueled primarily by former President Donald Trump and his running mate JD Vance, and violent threats against the community are upending daily life in Springfield.

World

This issue of A Public Witness takes you to Chicago to hear a taste of religious leaders calling for the people of the world’s religions to work together for religious freedom and to make a more peaceful and just world.

The proposed loan to the Museum of the Bible in Washington underscores the deepening ties between Israel and evangelical Christians in the U.S, whom Israel has come to count on for political support, tourism dollars, and other benefits.

When the war started, most priests remained silent, fearing pressure from the church and state authorities; only a small fraction have spoken out. Of more than 40,000 clergymen in the Russian Orthodox Church, only 300 priests signed a public letter calling for peace in Ukraine.

Editorials

As of press time, the U.S. government was reopening after the longest shutdown ever. Although I don’t work for the government, I was surprised how many times the shutdown impacted me.

As we ponder the story of Jesus' baptism, experts in Israel work to remove thousands of landmines from the area near the River Jordan and the traditional baptism site of Jesus. That’s right: One of the holiest sites remains surrounded by deadly landmines designed to keep people away.

Built around the same time as the birth of Jesus, the magnificent Tropaeum Alpium celebrated the victory of Caesar Augustus over the tribes in the Alpine region a decade earlier. Near the same time Augustus built the monument celebrating his military, political and religious might, the Roman leader did something else.

Word&Way Voices

Rick Santos, president and CEO of Church World Service, writes that rather than ascending to a place of power through brute strength, wealth, or status, the life and mission of Jesus are enacted through humility, presence, and connection. As he is with all of us, we too are called to

Joy Martinez-Marshall, pastor of First Baptist Church in Lincoln, Nebraska, writes that the Christ child knows what it is like to be born in a place not his own to a world that did not value his humanity and dignity. Today, innocent lives are caught in the middle of political

Rev. Jennifer Butler, founder of Faith in Public Life, writes that Advent begs us to notice how God’s power shows up most for people in the wilderness rather than those ensconced in the halls of power. Our hope resides in joining the cloud of witnesses who have prepared the way

E-Newsletter

This issue of A Public Witness considers Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s reference to Amalek from Deuteronomy and unpacks what it means when politicians invoke such passages during war.

This issue of A Public Witness introduces you to the 56th speaker of the House — the founding dean of a failed Baptist law school, an attorney for three firms devoted to advancing Christian Nationalism, a crusader for prayer in public schools, an evangelist proclaiming the U.S. is “a Christian

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.

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Recent Episodes

Books

Maina Mwaura writes about interviewing pastor and theologian Timothy Keller about Keller’s new book out for Easter, ‘Hope in Times of Fear: The Resurrection and the Meaning of Easter.’

Before passing away last July, famed civil rights activist C.T. Vivian started working on his autobiography, which will be released next week. In the book, he reflected on his role in key civil rights moments. And he suggested the “origins”

The famed Bible study teacher said she no longer feels at home in the denomination that once saved her life. Moore’s criticism of the 45th president’s abusive behavior toward women and her advocacy for sexual abuse victims turned her from a

Prayer in the Night: For Those Who Work or Watch or Weep is not a memoir, per se, but its deep theological insights are repeatedly grounded in Warren’s own experiences as a mother and an Anglican priest. And many of