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.
In addition to discrimination concerns and church-state issues, opponents worry school vouchers take money from public schools, which serve most students, and benefit higher-income families who already use private schools.
The federal lawsuit, filed by the National Religious Broadcasters, is the latest challenge to the so-called Johnson Amendment, which bars charitable nonprofits from taking sides in campaigns.
The resistance follows a summer order that propelled Oklahoma to the center of a growing push by conservatives to give Christianity a bigger role in public schools across the U.S.
‘The government gave us five years to comply and kept giving us reminders. That ended last year in September,’ said Anglican Archbishop Laurent Mbanda.
As a Palestinian Christian, Daoud Kuttab has often felt that defending symbolism can be an easy replacement for the practice of faith in action. He argues that this is certainly the case with a recent Olympics controversy.
This issue of A Public Witness looks at the creation of the law that eventually led to the Supreme Court’s case on the Bible in schools to determine what it teaches us about Christian Nationalistic motivations today.
'It is a wakeup call for the churches,' said an Anglican priest. 'The churches should remain independent, and I think the youth are angry that this is not the case.'