For months, we’ve documented the appearances, rhetoric, and political activities in religious settings of candidates running for office on a platform of Christian Nationalism. Many voters rejected this worldview to a shocking degree in Tuesday’s midterm elections. In this edition of A Public Witness, we
Each faith leader took turns denouncing ReAwaken and its headliner, General Michael Flynn, in front of a mobile billboard that offered messages like “stop twisting our faith to attack democracy” and “beware of false prophets.” The ministers also called out other notable far-right speakers at
As the Jan. 6 insurrection showed, our democracy is under attack. And Christian nationalism, which seeks to privilege one faith tradition over others, has fueled the anti-democratic efforts. Rather than serving as a balm for our fractured nation, religion is being used to further divide
Christopher Beem, an associate research professor and the managing director of the McCourtney Institute for Democracy at Pennsylvania State University, talks about his book The Seven Democratic Virtues: What You Can Do to Overcome Tribalism and Save Our Democracy.
Contributing writer Rodney Kennedy offers his take on Robert Jeffress' recent about-face when it comes to embracing the term "Christian Nationalist." Jeffress and those like him reveal a disturbing trend based in the active despising of truth. Democracy can be, in this case, a sacrificial
In this issue of A Public Witness, we sing a song of lament for how some Christians are helping to dismantle democracy. By looking at Kari Lake, a candidate who represents the threat, we explore her use of religious rhetoric and practices before offering a
Rev. Rebecca Littlejohn discusses why her congregation felt it was time to revisit the practice of having an American flag in the front of their worship space after the insurrection of January 6, 2021. As a pastor, she has become increasingly convinced that we, as
On Friday, a group of religious leaders met outside First Baptist Church in Batavia, New York, to denounce the arrival of General Michael Flynn’s ReAwaken America Tour. What made this different from previous events put on by the group Faithful America is that the leaders
Greg Carey asserts that democracy in the United States is in a world of hurt and Christians who treasure democracy must make crucial contributions to the healing process. This truth particularly applies to White Christians because they form the political base for the forces that
In this issue of A Public Witness, we introduce the likely Republican gubernatorial nominee in Illinois. Then we revisit previous examples of interparty primary meddling before warning about the potential dangers of fueling Christian Nationalism for partisan gain.