Church members are seeking ways to respond to family members, friends, and neighbors taken up with Christian Nationalism. Ecumenical and interfaith groups on the state level are offering some tips.
While Donald Trump’s win understandingly dominates the headlines, it’s also important to consider the results in the numerous other federal, state, and local races.
Nostalgia for a ‘Christian America’ overlooks the realities of religion in the founding era — which included taxes, jail time, exile, and even public hangings for anyone who defied state-run churches.
Parents of Louisiana public school children from various religious backgrounds filed the lawsuit arguing that it violates First Amendment language forbidding government establishment of religion and guaranteeing religious liberty.
The suit alleges that the mandate violates the Oklahoma Constitution because it involves spending public money to support religion and favors one religion over another by requiring the use of a Protestant version of the Bible.
‘Taking what has long been understood as a global message religiously and stamping it with the flag of one nation is the type of thing that for centuries theologians would call heresy,’ said Brian Kaylor.
Tailoring the request — part of State Superintendent Ryan Walters’s efforts to require Bibles in public schools — so that only one manufacturer’s Bible could qualify would be illegal.
An Oklahoma Department of Education bid proposal for 55,000 Bibles seems tailor-made for the 'God Bless the USA' Bible due to its mix of religious texts and historical documents. The bid could make the Trump-endorsed Bible an even bigger hit.
This issue of A Public Witness explores alarming new moves to implement Christian Nationalistic ideas in Indiana and Oklahoma before considering a glimmer of hope in Texas.
Several evangelical pastors, Catholic priests, and human rights organizations have denounced the surveillance, harassment, and the imprisonment of Nicaraguan faith leaders in recent years.