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'At the end of it, when we were just responding totally instinctually, we talked a lot about God,' Glover told RNS in a recent interview, referring to the Artemis II crew.

At the heart of Alabama’s latest death penalty controversy is Jeffery Lee, who became a Christian mentor to other incarcerated men on death row. Opponents to Lee’s execution ask courts to 'choose life.'

After complaints by Mormon politicians, a revised list of recognized religions now excludes denominations like the Disciples of Christ and United Church of Christ — whose churches boast membership among the founding fathers.

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Videos

Church

Methodists, Presbyterians, Catholics, Jews, and yogis have not just found common ground in human suffering and loss, but have learned how to lean on one another in a time of dire need.

Membership fell by nearly 400,000 people, continuing a nearly two-decade decline in what is still the largest Protestant denomination in the U.S.

After President Trump took office, a Presbyterian church retreated underground — abandoning their sanctuary for the basement in response to the administration’s decision to allow ICE officers to enter places of worship.

Nation

The situation escalated last month, when roughly 300 detainees launched a hunger and labor strike. DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin has dismissed the situation as a dispute over ‘ethnic food.’

Jerry Falwell Jr. resigned as president of Liberty University nearly six years ago. His wife and son still are feuding with one of the largest Christian colleges in the country.

This issue of A Public Witness considers how the Department of Homeland Security Secretary under Mullin continues to do violence to Scripture even after Kristi Noem was ousted.

World

Hegseth has a history of defending the Crusades, the brutal medieval wars that pitted Christians against Muslims.

The Iran war could be the final blow to Bethlehem’s tourism industry — and to the already-dwindling Christian population as well.

Some evangelicals’ cooling relationship with Chavismo stems from a 2024 meeting where Nicolás Maduro favored the pastors of the largest megachurches.

Editorials

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.

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.

While messengers to last week’s annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention debated how to treat churches with women in pastoral roles, Baptist Women in Ministry showed up to offer a counter witness.

Word&Way Voices

In our familiarity with the birth narrative, we often do not consider the long-term consequences for the secondary figures in the story. It was an unsettling time that left long and permanent scars on their lives.

Advent reminds us that God comes into a world already organized by power and exclusion — and does not accept its terms. If Christianity is used today to justify separation, the gospel calls us back to its center.

The cruel spectacle churns on for now, but Advent prepares us to see anew that there are countless ordinary acts of love happening quietly, out of sight, more than you and I will ever know.

E-Newsletter

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

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.

The story about Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reading a prayer based on a scene in a Quentin Tarantino film really did go viral in the U.S. and elsewhere. And it all started with our newsletter A Public Witness.

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Recent Episodes

Books

Drawing on cutting-edge work in biblical studies and ethics, David Dault makes the case that the recent rise in Christian Nationalism and religious violence demands new approaches to scriptural interpretation.

Sequola Dawson, senior pastor of St. Mary African Methodist Episcopal Church and a bereavement chaplain, offers a helpful discussion of death rituals, with a focus on honoring the environment while also acknowledging the traditions and needs of families.

In this book, W. David O. Taylor and Daniel Train bring together a remarkable group of theologians, scholars, and artists to offer a fresh perspective on pneumatology through the creative lens of the arts.

Through insightful reflections, practical exercises, and thought-provoking questions, Richard Voelz redefines how to do theology outside of a church context.