After a four-year COVID-19 delay, and the departure of about 25% of its U.S. churches, the United Methodist Church is meeting again and the issue of human sexuality is back on the agenda.
This issue of A Public Witness looks at the false claims of Christian persecution leveled against Biden in the midst of an acrimonious campaign.
The biggest change came among those who said they quit their religious upbringing because of its treatment or teachings of LGBTQ people.
A strong majority of Americans, and majorities of many religious groups, still broadly support LGBTQ rights.
Republican senators in Georgia also want to display the Ten Commandments in classrooms and allow religious chaplains to counsel teachers and students.
Eastern Orthodox leadership, despite lacking a single doctrinal authority like a pope, has been united in opposing recognition of same-sex relationships both within its own rites and in the civil realm.
With a bloody cleric adding Valentine’s Day to his culture (and literal) wars, this issue of A Public Witness looks deeper into the subversive mythology behind St. Valentine.
Critics have noted the campaign’s welcoming and progressive messages seem at odds with some of its Christian funders, who have also supported anti-LGBTQ+ and anti-abortion causes.
Her termination comes as the evangelical, multidenominational seminary is re-visiting its approach to human sexuality.
This issue of A Public Witness tracks which members of Congress are no longer part of the United Methodist Church to consider what that reveals about Methodist life as well as religion and politics more broadly.