This issue of A Public Witness takes you to church — twice — to listen to the evangelistic appeals of Mike Pence and Joe Biden on MLK's birthday at two significant Baptist congregations. Then the two messages are considered together to offer insights into the
This issue of A Public Witness will introduce you to the controversial career of Catholic Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò before looking at his role in a post-election crusade. Then it will consider the danger of the new call to fast and pray for the Jan.
Professor Marcia Pally makes the case that in nations descended from Abrahamic traditions like the U.S., religion is not somehow conservative and anti-democratic while secularism is progressive and pro-democracy. Abrahamic principles are at the core of democracy.
Our democracy is in trouble and we need to elect pro-democracy candidates. But what if that isn’t sufficient? That’s why Christopher Beem wrote "The Seven Democratic Virtues: What You Can do to Overcome Tribalism and Save Our Democracy." A political scientist with a background in
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