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Featured
Flunk Those Who Want a Religious Test for Office
In light of advocacy from figures like Doug Wilson and Micah Beckwith, it’s worth remembering why the American experiment includes a ban on religious tests for office.
‘We Garden on Our Knees’: Kew Theology & Gardening Project Explores Faith, Nature, and Climate
In a corner of west London, an Anglican church is using its proximity to one of the most famous botanical gardens in the world, Kew Gardens, as a reason for a new venture linking theology and nature.
Nuclear Weapons as ‘God’s Grace and Mercy’?
This issue of A Public Witness looks at how the head of the Russian Orthodox Church nukes God’s grace and mercy before considering how it serves as a warning about militaristic Christian Nationalism more broadly.
The Bible According to Christian Nationalists
We are excited to announce a new book unpacking seven types of misuses of Scripture by influential preachers and politicians pushing Christian Nationalism today, officially out Oct. 7 from Chalice Press and available for pre-order now.
Church
Empty Pews and Fear of ICE on Maryland’s Eastern Shore After TPS Ends for Haitians
Like other Haitians losing protection, they face an agonizing choice: try to stay in the U.S. and find underground work, constantly fearful of being caught by ICE. Or return to a nation so overwhelmed by gang violence and poverty that deportation is tantamount to a death sentence.
Thou Shalt Not … Amend the State Constitution?
This issue of A Public Witness takes you inside a hyperpartisan church for a taste of how the gospel of Jesus is being supplanted by an imperial lust for political power.
Progressive National Baptist Young People See Signs of Welcome but Seek Less Judgment
‘I feel like also seasoned adults complain about what we're wearing,’ said one teen about her historically Black denomination.
Nation
DHS Wanted to Build the Largest ICE Detention Complex in the US. Here’s How the Plan Just Got Killed.
Congregations and other community groups in Socorro, Texas, organized against the sprawling $126 million complex. They cited moral objections and warned that the town's infrastructure couldn't support it.
Flunk Those Who Want a Religious Test for Office
In light of advocacy from figures like Doug Wilson and Micah Beckwith, it’s worth remembering why the American experiment includes a ban on religious tests for office.
Adam Hamilton, Mega-Church Pastor, Wins Dem Senate Primary. Now Comes the Hard Part.
With a record-setting fundraising haul, Hamilton still faces an uphill battle to become Kansas' first Democratic senator in nearly a century.
World
‘We Garden on Our Knees’: Kew Theology & Gardening Project Explores Faith, Nature, and Climate
In a corner of west London, an Anglican church is using its proximity to one of the most famous botanical gardens in the world, Kew Gardens, as a reason for a new venture linking theology and nature.
Nuclear Weapons as ‘God’s Grace and Mercy’?
This issue of A Public Witness looks at how the head of the Russian Orthodox Church nukes God’s grace and mercy before considering how it serves as a warning about militaristic Christian Nationalism more broadly.
Archbishop Mullally Ends Africa Tour With Calls for Healing From Church’s Role in Slavery
The trip marked Mullally's first visit to Africa and highlighted the Church of England's controversial reparations fund to address its historic links to slavery.
Editorials
Southern Baptists Want to Shrink First Amendment Protections
Editor-in-Chief Brian Kaylor unpacks a significant problem with a proposed resolution for consideration at the 2026 annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention.
Trump’s Assigned Verse in Bible Marathon Is Red Meat for Christian Nationalists
The choice of ‘Two Chronicles’ is not a coincidence.
Pete Hegseth’s War Prayer
Editor-in-Chie Brian Kaylor reflects on a recent violent prayer by Pete Hegseth during a Christian worship service at the Pentagon and Mark Twain’s satirical work “The War Prayer.”
Word&Way Voices
A Town Full of Churches: What Happens When Institutions Fail to Address Addiction?
Across rural America, the same pattern repeats: high church density, persistent poverty, substance abuse crises, and the absence of systems capable of addressing problems at scale. Why do individual Christians often appear more effective than the organizations built in Christianity’s name?
Challenging Trump’s Efforts to Whitewash Our History
Education should open minds to facts, science, and our history — not close doors to them. Regressive-thinking adults prefer to hide facts and truth from students, as exhibited in the recent order from President Trump adding warning signs to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History.
Susannah Crockford Traces How Protestant Themes Frame Discourse Around Climate Change
The anthropologist discusses her new book, why many Western countries are having trouble responding to climate issues, and how theological motifs relate to fossil fuels and artificial intelligence.
E-Newsletter
Flunk Those Who Want a Religious Test for Office
In light of advocacy from figures like Doug Wilson and Micah Beckwith, it’s worth remembering why the American experiment includes a ban on religious tests for office.
Nuclear Weapons as ‘God’s Grace and Mercy’?
This issue of A Public Witness looks at how the head of the Russian Orthodox Church nukes God’s grace and mercy before considering how it serves as a warning about militaristic Christian Nationalism more broadly.
Thou Shalt Not … Amend the State Constitution?
This issue of A Public Witness takes you inside a hyperpartisan church for a taste of how the gospel of Jesus is being supplanted by an imperial lust for political power.
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The State of the Senate, from SC to ME to TX to KS
This episode of Dangerous Dogma features a conversation between Word&Way Editor Brian Kaylor, Lutheran minister and journalist Angela Denker, and Disciples pastor and author Beau Underwood. The conversation includes discussion about the death of Sen. Lindsey Graham as well as issues of faith and morality in Senate races in Maine, Texas, and Kansas. You can… -
Southern Baptists, the Pentagon, & UFC
This episode of Dangerous Dogma features a conversation between Word&Way Editor Brian Kaylor, Lutheran minister and journalist Angela Denker, and Disciples pastor and author Beau Underwood. The conversation includes discussion about the Southern Baptist Convention's push against women in ministry, the Pentagon changing how it codes the faith of military members, and the latest in… -
Southern Baptists, Women in Ministry, & a Billboard
In this episode, Word&Way President Brian Kaylor talks with Meredith Stone, executive director of Baptist Women in Ministry. The conversation includes discussion of efforts in the Southern Baptist Convention to further target women serving in churches and how BWIM is advocating for women (including with a billboard to greet SBC messengers next week in Orlando,… -
Divergent Visions for Rededicating the Nation
This episode of Dangerous Dogma features a conversation between Word&Way Editor Brian Kaylor, Lutheran minister and journalist Angela Denker, and Disciples pastor and author Beau Underwood. The conversation includes discussion about Rededicate 250, gerrymandering, Adam Hamilton's Senate campaign in Kansas, and the MAHA movement. You can watch a video version of the conversation here. Here are a few pieces… -
The Christian Past That Wasn't
In this episode, Word&Way President Brian Kaylor talks with Warren Throckmorton, a retired professor who has spent years debunking false claims by Christian Nationalist pseudo-historian David Barton. Throckmorton is the author of the new book, The Christian Past that Wasn't: Debunking the Christian Nationalist Myths that Hijack History. You can watch a video version of… -
Trump vs. Leo
This episode of Dangerous Dogma features a conversation between Word&Way Editor Brian Kaylor, Lutheran minister and journalist Angela Denker, and Disciples pastor and author Beau Underwood. The conversation includes discussion about President Donald Trump's attacks on Pope Leo XIV, Leo's witness against the Iran war, Trump's AI image of himself as Jesus, and the electoral… -
Fight Like Jesus with Jason Porterfield (Reissue)
In this episode, Word&Way President Brian Kaylor talks with Jason Porterfield about his book Fight Like Jesus: How Jesus Waged Peace. This episode originally aired in 2023, except for a new introduction noting a violent prayer by Pete Hegseth during a recent Pentagon worship service and Palm Sunday comments by Pope Leo XIV. Note: Don't forget… -
Pete Hegseth's Crusader Bible (A Trick of State)
In this episode, Word&Way President Brian Kaylor considers Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth's use of the English Standard Version of the Bible, patriarchy in the faith communities Hegseth has been a part of, and his Christian Nationalism. It also reveals that Hegseth's ESV Bible includes two Crusader symbols stamped onto the cover (and that match… -
An Unholy War
This episode of Dangerous Dogma features a conversation between Word&Way Editor Brian Kaylor, Lutheran minister and journalist Angela Denker, and Disciples pastor and author Beau Underwood. The conversation includes discussion about the Iran war, Christian opposition to the war, and viral claims of military leaders claiming this will bring "Armageddon." It also includes consideration of… -
Rewriting the Ten Commandments (A Trick of State)
In this episode, Word&Way President Brian Kaylor looks at legislation across the country that purports to want the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms. But the version mandated by lawmakers cannot be found in any Bible. Kaylor unpacks where the edited language came from, why such legislation is an attack on religious liberty, and the…
Books
Review: We Believe
Written from a Christian perspective, this comparative theological exercise puts Muslims and Christians in a dialogue over faith and doctrines.
Review: Gratitude to God
Philosopher Kent Dunnington invites us to move beyond pop psychology and reclaim a robustly biblical understanding of thanksgiving, one that transforms how we experience life, suffering, and God's generosity.
Review: Biblical Outlaws
Scholar Anthony B. Pinn offers a revelatory exploration of what the Bible's underdogs and forgotten figures can teach us about our humanity.
Book Recommendation: Skipping School
In detailing the evolution of homeschooling in the United States, this book is an enjoyable and enlightening read that challenges preconceptions and invites new, more informed questions.