Troubling the Water in Switzerland
This issue of A Public Witness takes you inside the modern debate about public baptisms in Switzerland to consider what this can teach us about balancing church and state.
France’s Highest Administrative Court Says the Soccer Federation Can Ban Headscarves in Matches
The ruling is likely to refuel the lingering debate on secularism — still volatile more than a century after the 1905 law on separation of church and state that established it as a principle of the French Republic.
Arabic ‘In God We Trust’ Signs Will Test Limits of Louisiana’s Law
Schools across Louisiana will also receive free LGBTQ+ Pride-themed posters to hang in their classrooms, though the designs might not be what some state lawmakers had in mind when they passed the new mandate Tuesday.
Church and State: Republicans Revel in Divine Plan to Turn Kansas Into ‘Conservative Sanctuary’
Lawmakers routinely entertain policy ideas shaped by fringe religious views — restrictions placed on transgender residents, anti-abortion propaganda, tax dollars for private schools, a refusal to acknowledge systemic racism.
Spiritual Squabbles in Statehouses
This issue of A Public Witness looks at recent faith squabbles in statehouses and how this could impact Christian Nationalistic legislative efforts in a Capitol near you.
Christian Nationalism and a Bagel
Given the questions about the event throughout its seven-decade history, the National Prayer Breakfast deserves greater attention. So in this issue of A Public Witness, Brian Kaylor recalls its history and recent controversies before considering what this year's new changes could mean.
House of Prayer
This issue of A Public Witness reviews the position of congressional chaplain before analyzing last week’s House prayers during the battle to elect a new speaker. Then it offers a benediction contemplating a better way of thinking about religion and politics.
The Activist Behind Opposition to the Separation of Church and State
In 1993, the Rev. Jerry Falwell Sr., founder of Liberty University and co-founder of the Moral Majority, promoted a book called “The Myth of Separation” by a Texan named David Barton. According to a Christian Century report, less than a month later on Falwell’s television
Supreme Rule for Christian Nationalism
We travel back to 1962 to consider the Court’s case on prayer in public schools (including how Word&Way praised the ruling at the time). Then we return to the present to analyze the arguments in Carson v. Makin before peering into the future to consider where this dangerous
Al Mohler Fumbles
Editor-in-Chief Brian Kaylor responds to comments by Southern Baptist Theological Seminary President Al Mohler, who attacked Americans United for Separation of Church and State while he advocated for government prayers in public schools.