Word&Way News: Nov. 27
It’s turkey time, so we’re wrapping up the week a bit early. And while we’re thinking about thankfulness, we’re grateful for all our paid subscribers who make this work possible. This week, paid subscribers to A Public Witness received a look at the ethical problems with the U.S. sending landmines to Ukraine.
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Top 5 at wordandway.org
No School Choice: A Letter From a Texas Public School Teacher. Christopher Symms reflected on his experiences as a middle school social studies teacher in light of Texas pushing for more Christian content in the curriculum.
Are Southern Baptists Ripe for a New Populist Movement? Rodney Kennedy argued that the structure of populism cries out for a new rebellion against the “elite” in every generation.
Review: Simplicity, Spirituality, Service. Robert D. Cornwall reviewed Simplicity, Spirituality, Service: The Timeless Wisdom of Francis, Clare, and Bonaventure by Bruce Epperly.
Bishop Gene Robinson, First Openly Gay Episcopal Bishop, Preaches Defense of McBride. Jack Jenkins reported on responses to the first transgender person elected to Congress.
Signing Church Services for the Deaf Is a Work of Love — and a Willingness To Learn the Bible. Reina Coulibaly reported on efforts to increase ASL interpretation at churches.
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by Brian Kaylor, Word&Way Editor-in-Chief
A city council prayer in Tulsa, Oklahoma, sparked complaints from those advocating for Christian Nationalism. Like at many city councils across the country, the one in Tulsa rotates who prays. People can be invited by a member or can even contact the council to volunteer.
Last week, one of the council members, who identifies as a Pagan, invited a priestess from her tradition to say the invocation for the meeting. A few days later, a conservative social media account in the state posted a video of the invocation, labeling it a “satanic prayer” (although it was not actually to Satan). That’s when some politicians and activists started complaining.
Gov. Kevin Stitt urged the city council “to stand strong against actions like this,” adding, “Satan is trying to establish a foothold, but Oklahoma is going to be a shining city on the hill.” (To be clear, Jesus’s “city on the hill” was about his followers, not the Sooner State.) Ryan Walters, the state’s superintendent of public instruction who has been pushing for Bibles and Christian prayers in public schools, insisted that such prayers “are welcome in Hell but not in Oklahoma.” He also called on Tulsa to “immediately move to ensure this never happens again and the person who allowed it should be held accountable.” Sean Feucht, the musical Forrest Gump of Christian Nationalism, also attacked the city council for allowing the prayer. He inaccurately added, “America is a Christian Nation.”
What those critics apparently don’t understand is the U.S. Constitution. According to the U.S. Supreme Court, if a city council opens with prayers, it must allow such opportunities for those of various religious traditions. Opening the door for one opens it for all. What it cannot do is what Stitt, Walters, and Feucht want: establish one religion as the only one that gets to pray at government meetings.
This Tulsa controversy is actually a good reminder of why city councils should just stop the practice of official prayers. It’s a government meeting. Get to work on community issues and leave the prayer to the houses of worship and individual believers. Bringing prayer into the meetings is unnecessarily divisive and can make some people feel like second-class citizens in their own community just because of their religious beliefs. I pray we’ll do better.
Other News of Note
Brian Kaylor wrote for Liberty magazine about how “under God” was added to the Pledge of Allegiance.
John Blake of CNN spoke with Rev. William Barber II about the election results and what they means.
Angela Denker wrote for Slate about the conservative evangelical misuse of Dietrich Bonhoeffer.
“This is not the time to be defeated, but rather the time for people who are concerned for the well-being of all of our neighbors to join together to be sure that we are about creating the flourishing society that we all need.” —Amanda Tyler in a Sojourners article about post-election organizing to oppose Christian Nationalism.
Catholic bishops in northern Africa issued a pastoral letter about the violence in the holy land to warn against using the Bible “to legitimize the colonization and annexation of a territory belonging to a people who only want to live in law and peace.”
Marquette University, a Catholic school in Wisconsin, is claiming a religious exemption so it can squash unionizing efforts by faculty.
Jason DeParle of the New York Times reported on a Bible study in Virginia for unhoused people.
David Roach wrote for Christianity Today about how food banks are coping with higher grocery prices.
Photo of the Week
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