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Behind the Story

From CT contributor Chris Butler: As a staffer at The Center for Christianity & Public Life, I spend a lot of time thinking about how the church can be a blessing to our civic life. And sometimes I’m inspired by the work of other groups, such as Faiths United to Save Democracy. During the election season, the organization deploys "poll chaplains"—ordained church leaders—to polling stations in battleground states so the volunteers can be a calming presence, encourage voters, and protect against potential voter intimidation.

The poll chaplaincy is one of the most creative interventions I’ve seen in support of democracy. So when my home state, Illinois, held its primaries this month, I decided to volunteer for the role near my house on the south side of Chicago. When election day came, however, my life had become a bit hectic. Our basement had flooded, and my family was dealing with the aftermath. But I wanted to model what I often talked about regarding democracy and go to the polling station.

I had planned to write about the election season for Christianity Today. My experience that day took the piece, which was published today, in a surprising direction. The church is already a major part of American democracy, and the election season can be pretty contentious. I hope the article inspires us to think about how we can love our neighbors well in a dark political environment. The New York City Council has passed a law establishing a buffer zone around houses of worship, but police are not sure how enforceable it is.  For the first time, the US Commission on International Religious Freedom called for sanctions on Hindu nationalist group Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh due to its systematic attacks on Christians. New York investigators returned to Italy six rare books, written by early Jesuit missionaries to China, that thieves had stolen more than two decades ago. CT has covered how these missionaries shared their science knowledge with Chinese elite to gain their respect and open the door to share the gospel. Today in Christian History March 31, 1596: French philosopher Rene Descartes is born. Though more famous for his saying, "Cogito ergo sum" (I think, therefore I am), he followed that statement with a logical argument for the existence of God. In essence, he argued that the idea of God, a perfect being, could only be caused by that perfect God.