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This week’s Summit for Religious Freedom, organized by Americans United for Separation of Church and State, struck a tone of joyful resistance.

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.

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Videos

Church

U.S. District Judge Jerry Blackwell will hear Friday from attorneys for Minnesota branches of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the United Church of Christ, and a Catholic priest.

Fountain Street Church, founded in 1869 through the merger of two Baptist congregations, has a legacy of rejecting dogma and pushing the envelope.

Carl Ruby, pastor of Central Christian Church, takes pride in the fact that Springfield’s resistance to Trump’s immigration crackdown is faith-based.

Nation

The state of Colorado said that faith-based schools are welcome to participate, but they must comply with nondiscrimination laws.

The bill is now heading to the Senate, and President Donald Trump announced he would veto it if it reached his desk.

A new Kansas law will allow college students to sue their schools for free-speech violations. In Tennessee, a new law will encourage teachers and professors to include ‘the positive impacts of religion’ in American history courses.

World

The alleged pipeline is a sign that the Russian state is leveraging its national church’s expansion into Africa.

U.S. President Donald Trump has alleged without evidence that Christians are the primary targets in Nigeria. While Christians have been among those targeted, analysts say the majority of victims of armed groups are Muslims.

The worldwide Anglican Communion, which includes the Episcopal Church in the U.S., has no formal head, but the archbishop traditionally has been seen as its spiritual leader.

Editorials

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.

Exploring Advent in a time of dangerous pregnancies, Brian Kaylor reflects on how powerful leaders often seek ways to make women’s journey difficult.

For the first devotional exploring Advent in a time of rulers clinging to power, Brian Kaylor reflects on Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro declaring Christmas in October to distract from his false election claims.

Word&Way Voices

Jesus didn’t say ‘peace’ because the disciples were safe or because the soldiers went away, but precisely because they were waiting outside and yet peace was still possible.

As Christmas approaches and the world gazes once again toward Bethlehem, a fundamental choice emerges: Will Christians justify oppression and exclusion, or will they stand with the local Christian community?

The season of Advent urges us to slow down; to dwell in the fullness of God’s good news. God offers us life-affirming joy even as calamity follows crisis like an ever-unspooling tragedy.

E-Newsletter

The defense secretary’s tattoos of the Jerusalem Cross and “Deus Vult” are frequently invoked as literal signs of his Christian Nationalism — and rightly so. But the same symbols on his Bible were overlooked until now.

This issue of A Public Witness heads down to Georgia to consider the devil in the details of the race to determine who will be the next Republican nominee for governor.

This issue of A Public Witness considers the danger of letting government outlaw a religion and the warnings about who could be next on the target list after Muslims.

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Recent Episodes

Books

William Schultz, a historian of American religion at the University of Chicago Divinity School, makes a compelling argument that there was a moment where Colorado Springs was a place of enormous cultural influence.

In this distinctive introduction to the Bible, minister and theologian Jonathan Linebaugh illuminates Scripture’s dual capacity for revealing human sinfulness and imparting divine love.

For this issue of A Public Witness, we briefly highlight 15 of our favorite recent books beyond those from our longer giveaway reviews. It can be a great resource for gifts or your own wishlist.

In this eyewitness account, Valentyn Syniy recounts how the Russian invasion of Ukraine upended life for students, teachers, and staff in a seminary community.