“I keep hoping that gets easier,” one character in The Long Walk says, shortly after witnessing the gruesome execution of a companion. Still visibly shaken, Cooper Hoffman’s character Ray Garraty replies: “That’s what I’m afraid of.”
A 2025 film adapted from the 1979 novel by Stephen King, The Long Walk depicts a dystopian near future where young boys from all over the United States voluntarily compete in a contest to walk at 3 mph continuously across hundreds of miles—with those who repeatedly fall below the pace being shot dead until there is one winner of glory and riches.
Last week the Trump administration announced Operation Midway Blitz, which extends the surge of ICE agents sent to Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., into Chicago; additional ICE surges are happening in Boston and are planned for Memphis. This increased ICE activity follows an alarming Supreme Court shadow docket ruling that permits the administration to stop people on the basis of personal appearance, language, or type of employment. In other words, racial profiling is now explicitly permissible for immigration officials.
If your life is proceeding basically as normal—school drop-offs, daily commutes, medical appointments, visits with grandchildren, stressful jobs, or the daily rhythms of life—it can be hard to remember the fear that many of our immigrant neighbors now feel. Despite my job leading a social justice organization, I’ll confess that I’m not immune from the temptation myself.
Romans 13:1, much to my chagrin, reads, “Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.”
I’ve been on the receiving end of a pointed quotation of this passage more than once; usually when I’ve questioned the governance of a particular leader or advocated for someone who has broken a law. But all too often, these words seem to vanish from my critics’ memories when their preferred leader is out of power. The Bible is decidedly nuanced in its opinions on this matter.
Last weekend, I visited my home state of Illinois to attend the Church at the Crossroads conference, which was held at Parkview Community Church in Glen Ellyn. Conference organizers estimated that 580 attended in person and 300 more joined virtually. The conference was convened to encourage American evangelicals to listen to Palestinian Christians and to confront and correct those who use scripture to “justify war, occupation, or silence” in the face of the escalating violence in Israel and Palestine.
Practically speaking, though, what was the point of this shindig?
This interview is part of The Reconstruct, a weekly newsletter from Sojourners. In a world where so much needs to change, Mitchell Atencio and Josiah R. Daniels interview people who have faith in a new future and are working toward repair. Subscribe here.
This is a tiring question for me: “How do we get young people to come to church?”
A federal judge has ordered the closure of the notorious immigration detention center known as “Alligator Alcatraz,” citing environmental violations and opposition from the Miccosukee Tribe. Progressives are celebrating this as a significant triumph for Florida’s Everglades, Indigenous communities, and the migrants who have endured the detention center’s conditions. But is this court ruling truly the sweeping victory that advocates claim?
I read the news, stepped into my car, and let out a guttural scream.
Charlie Kirk, 31, had been shot and killed while speaking at Utah Valley University.
The brazen and reprehensible murder of right-wing religious movement leader Charlie Kirk, a co-founder of Turning Point USA and a key supporter of President Donald Trump, is as tragic as it is telling about the sad state of American politics.
The 31-year-old husband and father of two died after being shot while he conducted a popular debate-style event at Utah Valley University, south of Salt Lake City. Kirk had started answering a question about gun violence in America when a single bullet struck him in the neck. Republican and Democratic spokespersons, including Trump, asked for prayers as medical professionals tried to save Kirk's life, but he succumbed to his wounds shortly after the attack.
Faith leaders are speaking out against Arkansas’ efforts to expand its options for carrying out the death penalty, calling for the state to address the root causes of violence rather than doubling down on punishment.
“Some will say, if you really do the research, you’ll find a more humane way for us to kill each other. I say, if you really do the research, you’ll find the laws that won’t put us in that position to begin with,” said Rev. Paul Beedle of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Little Rock.
Beedle joined more than 40 faith leaders signing onto a letter urging Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders to refrain from authorizing nitrogen gas as an execution method. Seven leaders gathered and spoke at the state’s capitol in Little Rock on Aug. 21, then delivered the letter to the governor’s office themselves.
As part of the ongoing assault on essential services for the most vulnerable, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed into law on July 4, includes $1 trillion in cuts to Medicaid over the next 10 years. As Emily Crawford noted for NPR in August, “The Congressional Budget Office estimates that these cuts could cause 10 million Americans to lose health insurance by 2034.”
As a caregiver for my disabled mother, who relies solely on Medicaid for health insurance, these estimates are terrifying. Also terrifying is that House Speaker Mike Johnson, the Louisiana Republican and Christian, gave glory to God when the bill that created these cuts was passed.