This Online Articles area (formerly our Library) gathers reflections, op-eds, and essays that engage the pressing questions of faith, justice, and public life. Here, you’ll find hundreds of thoughtful and engaging pieces from scholars, practitioners, and everyday Christians — leaders and writers who bring fresh insight and faithful imagination. These articles are meant to spark deeper discipleship, fuel courageous action, and equip the church to embody the gospel in a complex world. We invite you to explore, learn, and join the ongoing conversation toward a fuller expression of Christian faithfulness and a more just society.
Subscribe to the CSA Newsletter
CSA’s free weekly publication, a carefully curated collection of original articles at the intersection of spiritual formation and social action.
By David Swanson
To the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers who’ve entered my wonderful city of Chicago, who share my Christian faith: I plead with you to lay down your tasers and flash-bang grenades, take off your masks, remove the badges representing the federal government, and return to your homes, families, and churches.
By David de Leon
The first 100 days of the current presidential administration have brought a relentless stream of headlines: executive branch overreach, unelected billionaires wielding powers in shaping government with no accountability, a brutal crackdown on undocumented immigrants without due process, new attacks on higher education and student protestors, and the effects of avian flu continuing to increase egg prices, despite the President’s claim that he’s lowered the prices.
By Dr. Alexander Jun
As we celebrate AAPI Heritage Month, we must acknowledge the vital role Asian American churches play in North American religious history. These stories must not be erased, overlooked, downplayed, or dismissed.
Interviewed by Joyce Koo Dalrymple
Editor’s note: May is AAPI month, formally known as Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. Throughout this month, in addition to several articles we have lined up, we will be featuring Q&As with some of today’s leading thinkers and activists.
By Meg Baatz
Only a few months into this year, we have witnessed sweeping policy changes affecting transgender, nonbinary, and gender-nonconforming (TGNC) individuals. Even as Christians hold diverse views on the nature of sex and gender, we must recognize that these policies, along with social responses to them, create real hardships for our TGNC neighbors—hindering their ability to live, work, study, travel, and access basic needs safely.
By Mark J. DeHaven, Ph.D.
(Editor’s note: This is Part 4 of a 4-part health care series we are running over several months. You can access Part 1 on poverty, social factors, and health inequalities here; Part 2 on how the U.S.
By Mark Glanville
Encountering painful truths
A group from our church visited the abandoned building of a former First Nations residential school. St. Mary’s, as it was called, operated in Mission, British Columbia. We sat in a listening circle to receive the memories, pain, and reflections of two elderly women—one who grew up at that school and another who attended a different residential school nearby.
By Matthew Tyson
Allow me to begin with a direct and simple premise: For the Christian: the death penalty is inadmissible.
By this, I mean that the death penalty stands in opposition to the transformative power of Christ, the gospel’s message of redemption, and the mission handed down to Christians by Jesus himself.
By Mark J. DeHaven, Ph.D. & Daniel Gutierrez, Ph.D., LPC, CSAC
(Editor’s note: This is Part 3 of a 4-part health care series we are running over the next few months. You can access Part 1 on poverty, social factors, and health inequalities here; Part 2 on how the U.S.
By Mark J. DeHaven, Ph.D.
(Editor’s note: This is Part 2 of a 4-part health care series. You can access Part 1 on health as a social outcome and social factors here; Part 3 on the growing mental health crisis here; and Part 4 on health, communities, and the role of the church here.)
Americans are increasingly frustrated and angry about the state of health care in the U.S.
By Mark Glanville
Sanctuary as kinship: A biblical reflection
The story of undocumented immigrants and refugees in the U.S. includes the rich tradition of churches and other groups offering sanctuary—a practice of providing protection from arrest and deportation for vulnerable immigrants, and often, cocreating a community of belonging.
By Daniel Montañez
The term “sanctuary” often refers to a sacred place of worship—a temple, church, or synagogue — where heaven and earth meet, and the sacred and profane converse. Even those who don’t regularly attend church may visit a sanctuary in times of deep crisis — after losing a loved one, facing personal struggles, or searching for answers.
By Mark J. DeHaven, Ph.D.
(Editor’s note: This is Part 1 of a 4-part health care series. You can access Part 2 on how the U.S. health care system discriminates against the poor here; and Part 3 on the growing mental health crisis here; and Part 4 on health, communities, and the role of the church here.
By Laurie Nichols
Lent has been around for centuries, dating back to the Early Church. It’s a 40-day season of reflection, repentance, and renewal, modeled after Jesus’ time fasting in the wilderness (Matthew 4:1-11). At its core, Lent is about making space—letting go of distractions so we can refocus on what really matters: God’s love, justice, and the hope of resurrection.
By Andre Henry
“If a man wants to lynch me, that’s his problem. If he has the power to lynch me, that’s my problem.” When Stokely Carmichael said these words, he underscored the connection between racism and power.
By David de Leon
I admit that when I think of global poverty, my mind begins to spin, and discouragement begins to seep into my spirit. Like all complex issues, global poverty is a tangled web of generational and systemic challenges that have compounded over time.