Culture & Politics

Deon K. Johnson: As America marks its 250th year, the church has a crucial role to play in accurately telling the nation’s story (long version)

The Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Missouri’s ministry of writing and sharing daily prayers touches people beyond his parishes, as does his family’s experience of a traumatic year caught up in the federal crackdown on immigrants.

Deon K. Johnson: As America marks its 250th year, the church has a crucial role to play in accurately telling the nation’s story

What a silent retreat in the South taught me about community as resistance and strength

Change can feel like it's never going to come, writes a professor, until all of a sudden it does.

By Mallory McDuff Professor

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When summer doesn’t feel like a season of ease

We typically anticipate relaxation and a slower pace in the summer, but that is hard to imagine this year. So it is even more important to prioritize rest and play, writes a psychologist who specializes in faith and mental health.

By Jessica Young Brown Licensed clinical psychologist

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How can the Black church combat the erasure of Black history?

The current threats to Black historical memory should serve as a call for Christian leaders to preserve, celebrate and commemorate Black history, says a pastor of a historic church.

By Kenneth Young Pastor and director of external relationships, Massachusetts Council of Churches

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Jared Stacy: Why conspiracy theories find fertile ground in American evangelicalism

Disinformation and conspiracies thrive because they are storytelling acts, says the author of “Reality in Ruins.” What’s needed to combat them is a different story.

Why did we love the Walk for Peace?

The gripping tale of 19 Buddhist monks simply walking for peace reminds us that even our little steps can impact our communities.

By Aleta Payne Senior editor, Faith & Leadership

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Faithful people are called to deep politics, not cheap politics

The teachings of Jesus require us to engage in the work of justice. That is different from partisan politics, writes a peace activist.

By David LaMotte Songwriter, speaker, author and peace activist

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Julian Davis Reid: Black music is a form of God’s grace

A jazz musician and theologian reflects on the lessons that Black music can offer the church and the world.

‘Braving the Truth: Essential Essays for Reckoning with and Reimagining Faith’

In a new posthumous collection of her essays, friends of writer Rachel Held Evans reflect on her work. Theologian Candice Marie Benbow shares thoughts in this excerpt on feminism and allyship.

By Candice Marie Benbow Author

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The limits of hope and the promise of joy

In an excerpt from his new book, “Ancestors: Those Who Bless Us, Curse Us and Hold Us,” an AME pastor writes about the church as inherently political and why we cannot wait on God for change.

By William H. Lamar IV Pastor, Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church

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