Weekly Roundup: Aug. 7
Here’s the weekly roundup from A Public Witness. In addition to a report on Christian Nationalist rhetoric by the head of the Russian Orthodox Church that is free for anyone to read, paid subscribers to A Public Witness received a look at a rightwing church’s politicking for a ballot measure in Missouri (that failed on Tuesday).
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Top 5 at wordandway.org
Review: We Believe. Robert D. Cornwall reviewed We Believe: Muslims and Christians in Conversation about Faith by Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen.
Adam Hamilton, Mega-Church Pastor, Wins Dem Senate Primary. Now Comes the Hard Part. The United Methodist minister and author will now face Republican Sen. Roger Marshall in the general election.
‘They’re Not Real Pastors’: As Clergy Run As Democrats, Republicans Question Their Faith. Jack Jenkins reported on various campaigns in Iowa, Kansas, and Texas.
Empty Pews and Fear of ICE on Maryland’s Eastern Shore After TPS Ends for Haitians. Luis Andres Henao reported on how some congregations are already feeling the impact of the latest anti-migrant move by the Trump administration.
Houston Mothers Challenge Texas Ten Commandments Law Under State Religious Freedom Protections. Already facing federal lawsuits, the effort to force a highly edited version of the Ten Commandments in public schools now also faces a challenge under state law.
by Brian Kaylor, Word&Way Editor-in-Chief
Some political races offer quite the contrast. Like the James Talarico-Ken Paxton showdown for the U.S. Senate seat in Texas. A seminarian against a man caught in various financial and sexual scandals.
Another race that will offer a big contrast was set this week. Missouri state Sen. Rick Brattin won the Republican nomination to challenge Democratic U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver. This race probably won’t be as close as the Texas one, though we don’t yet know which way it will go. Missouri Republicans targeted Cleaver in a redistricting move that’s still before the courts. If the gerrymander is thrown out, Cleaver will easily win the urban Kansas City district. If the gerrymander is allowed, Brattin will likely win the sprawling district that only includes a third of Kansas City and then juts halfway across the state (to include my house in Jefferson City).
Either way, the race offers two visions of Christians in politics. Cleaver, who I interviewed on Dangerous Dogma a few years ago, is a United Methodist minister and former chair of the Congressional Black Caucus. He also has long had a reputation as a calming voice. And then there’s Rick Brattin, a brash proponent of White Christian Nationalism.
I’ve gotten to know Brattin as I’ve testified against Christian Nationalist bills in the Missouri legislature. He’s the current chair of the Senate Education Committee, and since pushing rightwing Christianity in public schools is a key goal of Christian Nationalists, I’ve tangled with him during several hearings. During a hearing last year about a bill on “chaplains” in public schools, we debated that idea and church-state separation. There was also the hearing last year over a bill to force a highly edited version of the Ten Commandments in schools. I’ve testified nearly 50 times over the past several years and Brattin’s treatment of clergy during that hearing was the most inappropriate behavior I’ve personally seen from a committee chair. And then there was the hearing this year where he and I debated whether or not the Constitutional Convention stopped to pray after Benjamin Franklin requested it (and to be clear, they did not pray even though Brattin wants to require schools to teach that they did).
A Black mainline Protestant pastor versus a White evangelical Christian Nationalist. The race for Missouri’s fifth congressional district offers two radically different visions of America and Christianity.
Other News of Note
Brian Kaylor appeared on the Faithful Politics podcast with hosts Josh Burtram and Will Wright as part of their “Church & State 250” series.
Kiera Butler of Mother Jones profiled the Christian Nationalist rhetoric of Pete Hegseth’s “Deputy Under Secretary of War for Intelligence and Security.”
U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles of Tennessee, who has posted AI slop videos of himself (and others like Pete Hegseth and Marco Rubio) dressed as medieval Crusaders, took his Crusader cosplay to a new level of historical accuracy by losing his reelection bid this week. The Islamophobic congressman was largely ousted in the Republican primary after being targeted by a pro-renewable energy PAC.
Robert Downen of Texas Monthly wrote about the Christian Nationalist former state representative now advising Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on “election integrity.”
Hunter Walker of Talking Points Memo reported on an ad from Colorado Republicans that depicted a Jewish gubernatorial candidate with devil horns.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche sparked controversy with comments on restricting abortion that he made during a call hosted by the White House Faith Office and a rightwing Christian organization.
“For a government official to threaten official punishments — and to jeopardize the ability of parents in Florida to choose Catholic schools for their children — on the basis of his own — in this case, mistaken — interpretation of Catholic teaching is a clear violation of the First Amendment and other legal religious-freedom protections.” —Rick Garnett, a professor of law at the University of Notre Dame, criticizing Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier for questioning the sincerity of Catholic beliefs while trying to force private Catholic schools to allow exemptions to their vaccine requirements.
A federal court heard arguments this week on behalf of Oklahoma citizens trying to block a proposed Jewish public charter school, which follows the previous rejection of a Catholic public charter school.
A new Canadian Armed Forces policy bars military chaplains from offering sectarian prayer at official events that military personnel are required to attend.
Russell Conreras of Axios reported on new data showing young Latinos are leaving organized religion at a higher rate than other demographics.
Cody Benjamin of Christianity Today profiled a former modeling scout who’s now trying to create a Christian mobile network.
Photo of the Week
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