Justice. Mercy. Faith.
Through The Christian Citizen, we seek to shape a mind among American Baptists and others on matters of public concern by providing a forum for diverse voices living and working at the intersection of faith and politics, discipleship and citizenship.
Ash Wednesday: A countercultural expression of our faith
We work so hard to rid our homes and places we frequent of any dust we can find. But here in a countercultural moment of clarity, the Church seeks to remind us that we are the thing we wish to remove from our lives. We are made of dust.
Ramadan: A month of peace, tranquility, and spiritual rejuvenation
Across Abrahamic faiths, fasting serves as a bridge — uniting believers in their pursuit of self-discipline, gratitude, and devotion. It is a shared human experience that transcends religious boundaries, emphasizing our collective yearning for spiritual growth and inner peace.
Weekly religion news roundup (February 21-27, 2025)
Each Friday in The Christian Citizen, we publish a Religion News Roundup with summaries of religion news stories and links for those who want to read more.
Spiritual formation that disturbs you
“May the Spirit of God disturb you” sounds like a bit of ire at first. Perhaps it is the word of blessing we need most.
Harvard adopting the IHRA definition of antisemitism is a harbinger of what’s to come
We should see this move for what it really is: a nakedly opportunistic attempt to advance an authoritarian agenda and restrict our First Amendment rights.
Learning to risk in ‘Paddington in Peru’
In these times, churches have to be like Mr. Brown – they have to embrace risk for the sake of something greater. We know that success is not guaranteed, and we cannot know what repercussions might manifest from opposing naked cruelty.
Featured Series
Faith and Politics
Cruelty is coming. Brush up on nonviolent resistance
Nonviolent resistance is about peacefully but decidedly disrupting oppressive tactics. Although it sometimes puts the person engaged in it at risk of things like arrest or violence themselves, when done well, it uses creativity, self-sacrifice, and solidarity to affirm the humanity of the vulnerable.
Jimmy Carter was there when my congregation needed him: Remembering a president
President Carter knew that those who lack housing or food are not merely political pawns, but the real presence of God in our midst. What we do, or don’t do, to serve them reveals everything about what we value in our world and in our congregations.
Today I ask you to choose faith
What we really need is faith. Faith in that arc and its bending, faith that what we do counts for something, faith that we can be the friends that God needs now.
Authentic hope comes from building together
We know we are not where we want to be as a country—or as a people. Our work is not done. But the answer is not to give up or retreat.
Turning the world upside down: religious freedom, civil rights, and the struggle for a more just, equitable world
Baptists and other religious minorities turned one world upside down and gifted us the world we live in today where I am free to practice my faith and others are free to do the same.
We must deal with our public grief
When loss occurs, grief inevitably follows. Yet in public life, grief from our collective losses seems to routinely get short-circuited. We seem incapable of allowing it into our lives. But that stymies our shared project of creating communities that thrive, because it causes so many of us to pretend or wish our losses never happened. For others, it means a retreat from public life entirely.
From the editor: Across the US political spectrum, contempt, acceptance of violence on the rise
Across the U.S. political spectrum, contempt is on the rise. So too is acceptance of violence as a political tool.
Can an exhausted majority find hope in a campaign for dignity?
Change has to start with us,” Shriver believes. “We all have some responsibility for our division. It didn’t just happen to us. We’re doing this to ourselves, and we can undo it.”
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