Note: This post is an excerpt from a chapter titled “Juneteenth” in the author’s forthcoming book, Backslide: Reclaiming a Faith and a Nation After the Christian Turn Against Democracy, which will be published September 8 and is now available for pre-order....
The arts — in whatever form they take — play an important role in all societies. In fact, archeologists often look to the artistic and cultural remnants of a society to understand what it valued and believed. In addition to…
On the eve of Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans, the “anti-vaccine, pro-Trump, guitar-strumming preacher” Sean Feucht staged a so-called Jesus March in the French Quarter of New Orleans. In addition to Feucht’s rise to fame for defying safety orders…
“I dreamed the future for myself,” one of the last surviving Tuskegee Airmen said in a recent interview with BNG before his death at age 100. Lt. Col. Harry Stewart died Feb. 2, at the beginning of Black History Month,…
The legal advocacy group seeking to stop the Trump administration from making ICE raids in houses of worship now seeks to stop the White House from dismantling the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Democracy Forward, based in Washington, D.C., filed suit…
The pattern emerged in the biblical text when the prophet Nathan confronted the king of Israel and said, “Thou art the man.” And in the United States, that very same pattern now has become crystal clear. The pattern is contempt…
I own an indecent number of social-justice T-shirts. Name a cause and I bet I have a T-shirt to match. At last count, I had at least two dozen shirts with a theme or motto. There’s my indigenous shirt with…
Donald Trump’s aggressive crackdown on immigration is pushing faith-based groups to be more bold, flexible and creative in their ministries to immigrants, a panel of experts said during a webinar hosted by the American Baptist Home Mission Societies. The session…
Since delivering a sermon at the inaugural prayer service at Washington National Cathedral, Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde has faced a firestorm of backlash from far-right forces. Pointing to her calls for mercy — especially for LGBTQ people and immigrants —…
Christian charities are waiting cautiously to see how the White House’s recent anti-aid priorities are going to affect their organizations serving millions of people across the world. The first few weeks of the Trump administration already have seen tensions flare…
“The nation of Israel was born because Joseph went to prison,” former IHOPKC pastor Mike Bickle told the congregation in what would become his final sermon in October 2023. “He’s thrown in prison because of the betrayal of his brothers.”…
A new federal lawsuit seeks to overturn the Trump administration’s suspension of refugee admissions and to restore funds Congress already approved to serve refugees recently admitted to the country. Three refugee service organizations and nine individuals filed Pacito v. Trump…
I haven’t sent a greeting card in at least a decade. A couple of weeks ago, however, a friend from back home contacted me to ask if I would be willing to help out her neighbor’s child with a class…
