Church and State

The Chaplaincy: a Public Role of Christianity in the United States

Reclaiming chaplains who understand themselves first as chaplains, and not merely as decorative functionaries would be one way of retrieving Christianity in the public square.

Government’s Two-Edged Sword

The Christian challenge is to identify a role for good government to restrain evil alongside other God-given institutions while at the same time establishing robust means to check the evil of government.

Niebuhr’s European Impressions: From Truman Doctrine to State Churches
Niebuhr’s European Impressions: From Truman Doctrine to State Churches

After traveling through Europe in 1947—including to Scotland, Amsterdam, and Switzerland—Reinhold Niebuhr wrote some reflections, including on state churches, the Truman Doctrine, Christian political parties, and more.

Throne-Altar Nostalgia: Appeal of Catholic Integralism Grows
Throne-Altar Nostalgia: Appeal of Catholic Integralism Grows

For American Protestants used to the First Amendment’s protection of religious freedom, integralism—the doctrine that the state should publicly support the Catholic Church and protect that faith—sounds strange.

Migration, Security, and the Witness of the Church
Migration, Security, and the Witness of the Church

Christians in the midst of the reality of global migration have both a responsibility and an opportunity.

Religion in Russia
Religion in Russia

In this piece, originally published in Christianity and Crisis on March 22, 1943, N.S. Timasheff notes that the godless policy of the Communist party didn’t indicate an irreligious populace.