Defending the Dignity of All

JAILS ARE NOT nice places. There is little to dampen the sheer terror of being closed in, locked down, and utterly vulnerable. Now imagine getting booked into county jail while pregnant. Journalist Beatrice M. Spadacini writes this month on moms giving birth and raising children while incarcerated or entangled in the carceral system. These stories call to mind Junia, the only woman whom Apostle Paul identifies as “in prison with me” and who was “in Christ before I was” (Romans 16:7). Christians are continually instructed to make alliances across the cell blocks and over the prison walls. Dwayne David Paul’s commentary on convict labor elevates the usefulness of those alliances today for strengthening worker’s rights and defending the dignity of all.

Might this also be a “democracy summer”? Across college campuses this spring, students waged anti-war demonstrations to pressure trustees to divest endowments from Israel’s war in Gaza. As students’ critique of U.S. war policy deepens, their commitment widens to democratic norms. Maria J. Stephan’s feature draws examples from around the world to show how and why Christians must defend and nurture democratic values for freedom and responsibility.