Is Empathy a Sin? Some Conservative Christians Argue It Can Be
Empathy is usually regarded as a virtue, a key to human decency and kindness. And yet, with increasing momentum, voices on the Christian right are preaching that it has become a vice.
Judge Rules Some Texas School Districts Don’t Have to Display Ten Commandments
A federal judge temporarily halted a law requiring public schools to display a version of the Ten Commandments in every classroom, echoing faith leaders and others who argue the statute violates the First Amendment.
Attendance Drops, Fear Rises in Immigrant Churches as Trump Takes Over DC
‘I never thought I had one day to cancel Sunday worship because it is not safe for our Latino siblings to come to church. But here we are … ,’ wrote one pastor on Facebook.
Three New Documentary Projects Warn About Abusive, Nationalistic Faith
This issue of A Public Witness recommends two films and one miniseries exploring important issues of Christian Nationalism and religious abuse.
Fight Between Library and Church: Theft or Civil Disobedience?
Sixteen volumes go missing after a Kentucky church urges members to check out then never return library books about LGBTQ+ people.
US Archbishop’s Meeting With Putin Denounced As ‘Betrayal of Christian Witness’
Critics say the meeting conferred legitimacy on Putin, on top of his being hosted by Trump on U.S. soil despite an arrest warrant issued in 2023 from the International Criminal Court, accusing Putin of war crimes in the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
‘There Really Is No Escape’: Faith Leaders Help Immigrants Face Court As ICE Arrests Rise
Clergy are accompanying immigrants to court appointments to provide comfort and information and, in cases where their worst fears are realized, to pick up the pieces of a shattered American dream.
Literally Misreading the Bible
This issue of A Public Witness looks at how one Calvinist voice with connections to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is publicly doing violence to Scripture to justify some disturbingly unChristlike behavior.
Dallas Clergy ‘Bear Witness’ With Prayer Vigils Outside ICE Office
Mara Richards Bim, the new Justice and Advocacy Fellow at Royal Lane Baptist Church in Dallas, spoke about how to bridge what we talk about in church and political action.
Gerrymandering the Bible
The opening chapter to “The Bible According to Christian Nationalists,” which officially releases in eight weeks, is fortunately (and unfortunately) quite timely. We are sharing an excerpt from it here.