Weekly Roundup: June 19
Here’s the weekly roundup from A Public Witness. In addition to a review of a new book by a prominent sociologist that is free for anyone to read, paid subscribers to A Public Witness received a report on recent denominational statements on Christian Nationalism by Presbyterians, United Methodists, and the Reformed Church in America.
Support our journalism ministry by upgrading to a paid e-newsletter subscription today!
Top 5 at wordandway.org
‘Cast Aside the Clouds’ Removes the Veil on Baha’i Persecution in Iran. Juliet Vedral reviewed Cast Aside the Clouds, a new film set in modern-day Tehran that is both a forbidden love story and a depiction of the steadfast faith of the Baha’i community amidst ongoing persecution.
Review: Love Your Neighbor. Robert D. Cornwall reviewed Love Your Neighbor: How Psychology Can Enliven Faith and Transform Community by Katherine M. Douglass and Brittany M. Tausen.
‘They Have Already Suffered Enough’: Central African Clergy Respond to US Deportation. Tonny Onyulo reported on growing criticism of the U.S. government’s deportation efforts.
Oklahoma Pastor Who Was Backed by Trump Exits GOP House Runoff After Reports of Inappropriate Texts. The founder of “Pastors for Trump” saw his bid for a U.S. congressional seat derailed by a moral scandal.
Astronaut Victor Glover Is Still Trying to Find the Spiritual Words to Describe His Moon Mission. Jack Jenkins spoke with an Artemis II astronaut about his recent flight around the moon.
Dangerous Dogma
This week’s episode 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 the world of sports. Listen to the audio version here (or wherever you listen to podcasts) or watch the video version here.
by Brian Kaylor, Word&Way Editor-in-Chief
Last week, Southern Baptist theologian Albert Mohler successfully pushed the nation’s largest Protestant denomination to vote against women in ministry. This week, he joined Doug Wilson on a podcast to gloat about the vote and laugh about churches who affirm that women are equal before God.
Wilson, who leads the denomination that Secretary of Pulp Fiction Pete Hegseth is part of (and has preached at the Pentagon this year), is a self-described “paleo-Confederate” who believes women shouldn’t be allowed to vote. An advocate for Christian Nationalism, Wilson wants to ban public worship by Catholics and those of other religions. He’s also been a longtime apologist for the American system of chattel slavery and has been accused of creating a culture of abuse within his churches.
For Mohler, Wilson is now an ally with whom he’s writing a book to push Christian Nationalism. But a woman preaching the gospel? That can’t possibly be good in the worldview of Mohler.
Last year, I told the Associated Press that Wilson used to be “fringe” in the evangelical world but now is increasingly mainstream. Mohler is proof of that. When someone shows you who they are, believe them.
As Mohler moves further into the world of fundamentalist patriarchy, racism, and Christian Nationalism, we must reject his claim that he’s just holding to “orthodox” Christian positions. His fight against women in ministry is just one more front in this effort for domination, which is why this matters for all of us. As the words of Fannie Lou Hamer remind us on this Juneteenth: “Nobody’s free until everybody’s free.”
Survey Says…
Other News of Note
Ian Ward of Politico wrote about an effort to create a rightwing Christian community in Tennessee.
County commissioners in Rockwall County, Texas, rejected a call that they remove a new
graven imagemonument of the “Ten Commandments” on the county courthouse grounds. They insist the monument is constitutional, but didn’t mention that it’s a made-up version not found in any Bible.Robert Downen of Texas Monthly wrote about an effort in Texas to force public schools to teach about the so-called “Black Robe Regiment” even though it’s a myth (and such fake history has also been pushed by legislators in other states).
Renzo Downey of The Texas Tribune wrote about the anti-Muslim rhetoric at the Texas Republican convention (including by a pastor) and how it impacted Muslim delegates.
Vivek Ramaswamy, who is Hindu, is navigating issues of religion and race as the Republican gubernatorial nominee in Ohio.
Jeff Brumley of Baptist News Global reported on an event promoting “Religious Liberty for All” that included remarks from Rachel Laser, Fish Stark, Holly Hollman, Rep. Jared Huffman, Terri Hord Owens, Skye Perryman, David Saperstein, and Corey D.B. Walker.
“Love feels like blasphemy when you worship power.” —James Talarico, the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in Texas, in response to Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick saying Talarico (who is a Presbyterian seminary student) is “going to hell.”
After anti-ICE protesters in Minnesota were indicted this week, several religious groups added their voices to those condemning the arrests as an effort to silence First Amendment rights.
Chinese police raided a church during its Sunday worship services, detaining dozens of members.
Jessica Janvier wrote for Christianity Today about the Baptist pastor who, in 1979, got Texas to recognize Juneteenth as a holiday.
Photo of the Week
Thanks for reading!