In this issue of A Public Witness, we look at the few protests at churches that actually occurred over the weekend. Then we recall more significant political protests in sanctuaries in the past before considering what all of this might portend for free speech in sacred
A longtime missionary in Hong Kong has praised the pro-democracy activists who received jail sentences last week for their vocal opposition to the city’s new national security law. Read full piece
Despite becoming more vulnerable and disconnected following last week’s military takeover, the country’s Christian minority steps out in prayer and protest. Read full piece
The website BibleGateway.com saw unusual spikes in related searches around the first COVID-19 lockdowns last spring, the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police and the protests that followed in the summer, and the U.S. presidential election this fall.
Columnist Greg Mamula reflects on recent efforts by athletes to protest against racial injustice by boycotting games. He notes that sports are a reward for a functioning society, and we are not a healthy, functioning society right now.
Though sports ministries long espoused a “colorblind” approach to race, believers in pro sports are leading the calls for racial justice. Read full piece
The Florida Klansmen had armed themselves with ax handles. It was Aug. 27, 1960 — a year of lunch counter sit-ins by civil rights activists. Read full piece
Baptists in the eastern European nation of Belarus request prayers as the nation’s streets fill with protesters upset at presidential election results largely deemed fraudulent.
Between a global pandemic, massive protests against racial injustices, and a divisive election, Editor Brian Kaylor argues that 2020 is a year that demands more cellos.
A series of religious demonstrations in Washington, D.C., over the weekend mixed prayerful calls for racial equality with frustration with law enforcement, lawmakers and the Trump administration. Baptists joined the protests.