Weekly Roundup: May 22
Here’s the weekly roundup from A Public Witness. This week we published an assessment of a Christian Nationalist rally on the National Mall and a report on the latest worship service at the Pentagon.
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Top 5 at wordandway.org
Review: Genealogy Theology. Robert D. Cornwall reviewed Genealogy Theology: Exploring Family Lines and Spiritual Legacies. By Frank G. Honeycutt.
After Years Fostering Interfaith Ties, San Diego Mosque Finds Allies in Grief. Ulaa Kuziez reported on a deadly shooting at a mosque this week.
Belarus Authoritarian Leader Welcomes US Evangelist Franklin Graham to Hold Massive Gathering. The Trump-backing evangelist is also cozy with authoritarian leaders of other nations.
Thousands Attend Protests in Selma and Montgomery for Voting Rights. Ralph Chapoco reported on a demonstration by clergy and others against gerrymandering efforts targeting Black Democratic members of Congress.
As Seminaries Shuttered, Union Grew. For Serene Jones, Controversy Was the Price of Survival. Fiona Murphy spoke with the retiring president of Union Theological Seminary.
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 Rededicate 250, gerrymandering, Adam Hamilton’s Senate campaign in Kansas, and the MAHA movement. 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
The Spring awards season for religion journalism wrapped up over the weekend with a few more for us. We’ve already received numerous honors this year, such as from the Religion Communicators Council and Religion News Association. Now, we earned a few more from the Associated Church Press, which brings together the leading publications in mainline Protestant life as well as some Catholic and evangelical publications.
Here are the awards we received from the ACP for our work in 2025:
First place in national reporting (long format) for my piece, “The Surprising Story of How Speaker Johnson Read a Fake Jefferson Prayer.”
Second place in nonfiction books for my latest, The Bible According to Christian Nationalists (which follows the first place win in the category last year for Baptizing America).
Second place in devotional writing for Unsettling Advent.
Third place in seasonal writing for my piece, “Department of Herod Security’s War on Christmas.”
Third place in audio news story for Dangerous Dogma.
That’s quite the representation of the breadth of our work, with awards for A Public Witness, our popup Advent newsletter, our podcast, and my newest book. But as always, we couldn’t do this without the support of our paid subscribers and donors. So if you’re not yet a paid subscriber to A Public Witness, upgrade today to help us continue our award-winning journalism.
Other News of Note
Vittoria Elliott of Wired reported that the head of the Department of Labor’s Center for Faith (who has been leading the DoL’s worship services) is now also leading the DoL’s office to make sure federal contractors comply with anti-discrimination laws.
The Department of Transportation hung up a large banner on its building declaring, “One Nation Under God.” DoT Secretary Sean Duffy has used his position to push Christianity.
The Department of Homeland Security released a video using John 1:5 to suggest they are the light that the darkness cannot extinguish. This follows a pattern of DHS co-opting Bible verses in propaganda videos.
New Air Force rules, which were designed to follow guidance from Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, make it harder for service members to receive religious accommodations and reduce the input of chaplains.
“This is how the death penalty system really works — unprofessional, unreliable, and inconsistent — even for those seeking justice through this abhorrent, flawed practice. When is enough, enough?” —Joia Thornton, national director of the Faith Leaders of Color Coalition, condemning Tennessee, which yesterday botched an execution of Tony Carruthers (who insists he is innocent).
Chick-fil-A is famous for being closed on Sunday to observe the Sabbath. But now the fast food chain is being sued by the federal government for not accommodating an employee whose Sabbath is on Saturday.
Episcopal Bishop Deon Johnson of Missouri spoke with St. Louis Public Radio about the immigration struggles experienced by his family.
Emmanuel Nwachukwu wrote for Christianity Today about how churches in Sudan are struggling amid a brutal civil war.
Next week, Pope Leo XIV will release his first encyclical, which will address the issues of human dignity in the era of AI.
Many Catholics are mourning the end of Stephen Colbert’s late night show, during which he often highlighted his Catholic faith. Last year, we published our own lament about the cancellation of his show.
Photo of the Week
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