Weekly Roundup: May 23
Here’s the weekly roundup from A Public Witness. In addition to a book announcement that is free for anyone to read, paid subscribers to A Public Witness received a report on a church-state controversy at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy.
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Top 5 at wordandway.org
Review: Reading While Black. Robert D. Cornwall reviewed Reading While Black: African American Biblical Interpretation as an Exercise in Hope by Esau McCaulley.
Fire at Historic Black Church in Memphis Was Intentionally Set, Investigators Say. Adrian Sainz reported on the latest developments after significant damage to Clayborn Temple, where Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. organized his last campaign.
Don’t Shut Down the ERLC, Say Former SBC Presidents in Open Letter. Bob Smietana reported on the debate about the future of the Southern Baptist Convention’s public policy arm as Trumpian Baptists want to close it for being too “liberal.”
With a Massive Ark and Museum, He Spreads Creationism a Century After Scopes Trial. He’s Not Alone. Peter Smith profiled Ken Ham’s efforts to continue the anti-evolution fight of William Jennings Bryan.
With Fewer Ordinations, Seminaries Find Ways To Serve Young Professionals in Other Fields. Kathryn Post wrote about how some seminaries are expanding their programming as fewer people study for vocational ministry.
by Brian Kaylor, Word&Way Editor-in-Chief
Yesterday (May 22), the justices of the U.S. Supreme Court announced they were deadlocked 4-4 in the case involving an effort to start a sectarian public school in Oklahoma. Because Justice Amy Coney Barrett recused herself, that left just eight. A tie means the court won’t issue a ruling, which then leaves the lower decision intact. That was the Oklahoma Supreme Court’s ruling that a sectarian public school would violate both the U.S. and Oklahoma Supreme Court. This is good news since a ruling for the Catholic school would’ve decimated the U.S. Constitution’s Establishment Clause.
“The Supreme Court’s stalemate safeguards public education and upholds the separation of church and state,” said Rachel Laser, president and CEO of Americans United for Separation of Church and State (where I serve on the national board of trustees). “Charter schools are public schools that must be secular and serve all students. … A religious public school would be an abject violation of religious freedom.”
While the Supreme Court’s move is good, it’s alarming that four justices think a public school could be sectarian. We don’t officially know which four since it was an unsigned order, but court watchers are confident the four who voted to allow the sectarian public school were Justices Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Clarence Thomas. Chief Justice John Roberts was considered the swing vote who would decide whether this was a 4-4 tie or a 5-3 ruling to destroy the idea that public education treats all people equally regardless of their religious beliefs.
Public schools are not Sunday Schools. The fact that at least four justices believe otherwise is troubling, especially since Barrett is also considered to share that perspective. So while I celebrate this tie as a win for the moment, it’s also a warning sign that much more work is needed to protect religious liberty for all.
Other News of Note
Michael McGrady Jr. of The Pitch wrote about Christians in Missouri pushing back against Christian Nationalism (including Brian Kaylor).
Rev. Karen Georgia Thompson, general minister and president of the United Church of Christ, warned about Christian Nationalism and extremism during a German Protestant event in Hannover.
Kathryn Joyce wrote for Vanity Fair about how the Catholic Right is divided over Pope Leo XIV.
Opposition to efforts to push Christianity in public schools led to the defeat of a large education package in Nebraska’s legislature.
A bill to force public schools in Alabama to post an edited version of the Ten Commandments died for this legislative session.
Jasmine Garsd of NPR reported on ICE detaining an evangelical pastor in Florida and the impact on his family and faith community.
“If indeed we’re one people who preach love and justice, let’s decentralize the church system from U.S.-centered gatherings. We can’t continue living in a one-size-fits-all era.” —Rev. Gabriel Banga Mususwa of Zambia in a United Methodist Insight piece about why the United Methodist Church needs to hold a general conference outside the United States.
The Trump administration rescinded a $37.7 million fine that Grand Canyon University, the nation’s largest Christian school, owed after an investigation by the Department of Education during the Biden administration found the school had lied to graduate students about the costs of degrees. A lawsuit by former doctoral students continues after a judge ruled this month that their suit can move forward.
As colleges across the country face enrollment and financial shortfalls, rural religious schools are particularly endangered.
A deadly tornado that hit St. Louis, Missouri, badly damaged Centennial Christian Church and killed a member who was volunteering inside. Other church buildings in the city also suffered damage.
James Russell of The Barbed Wire wrote about historic churches designed by the first licensed Black architect in Texas.
Lamma Mansour, a Palestinian Christian, wrote for Sojourners about violence in Gaza, racism in the American South, and the biblical character Rizpah.
Photo of the Week
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