Mike Johnson Doesn’t Know … Church-State Edition
This issue of A Public Witness unpacks the House speaker’s latest attack on church-state separation and a surprising voice singing some opposition to his Christian Nationalist worldview.
Baptist Pastor Shot in Leg by Officer During All Saints’ Day March Outside ICE Facility
This issue of A Public Witness explores the story of Rev. Michael Woolf, an American Baptist/Alliance of Baptists pastor who became the latest clergy to experience violent state tactics being used against peaceful protesters.
Texas Episcopal Diocese Says One of Its Priests Has Been Detained by ICE
At least one other religious leader, Muslim hospital chaplain Ayman Soliman, had been detained earlier by ICE as part of President Donald Trump’s ongoing mass deportation effort.
Trump Threatens Nigeria With Potential Military Action, Escalates Claim of Christian Persecution
While Christians are among those targeted, analysts say the majority of victims of armed groups are Muslims in Nigeria’s Muslim-majority north, where most attacks occur.
Faith Leaders Join Democrats to Decry Health Care Cuts, Expiring SNAP Benefits
‘We will not retreat, and we will use every nonviolent tool at our disposal, to call this nation, this Congress, to stop all of this partisan fighting and get down to the business of the people,’ said the Rev. William Barber II.
Speaker Johnson Says Clergy Protesting Deportations Have No Right to ‘Get in the Face’ of DHS Agents
Johnson initially claimed he was not aware of the instances, despite having been directly asked about one of the incidents in a press conference earlier this month.
‘Exvangelical’ Women Are Leaving Their Churches. But Is It Decline or Renewal?
Dissenting former evangelical Christian women are forging a path different from those who have left the church in the decades-long decline in institutional faith.
The Finger of Suspicion
This issue of A Public Witness looks at the danger of religious attacks against politicians as MAGA comes after Republicans for non-Christian beliefs or for offering kind words to Americans celebrating a non-Christian religious holiday.
Latino Pastors Look to Refit Preaching and Pastoral Care to Trauma of Mass Deportations
Latino Christian leaders meeting in Southern California discussed how best to pastor congregations newly traumatized by the Trump mass deportation policy.
When a Christian Leader’s Visit to His Own Holy Site Becomes News
For decades, Western Christian leaders have avoided visiting the Church of the Holy Sepulcher — the most revered site in all of Christianity. So Vice President JD Vance’s recent visit stood out.