

Since 1900, the Christian Century has published reporting, commentary, poetry, and essays on the role of faith in a pluralistic society.
© 2023 The Christian Century.
Labor, land, and racism
Fifty years later, Wendell Berry revisits the themes he introduced in The Hidden Wound.
by Brian Volck
Solidarity with student workers?
Several church bodies have adopted prolabor statements. The actions of their affiliated schools often tell another story.
Who’s doing our dirty work?
Eyal Press looks inside the daily lives of prison workers, drone warriors, and meatpackers.
The White Iowans and Latino and African migrants of the meatpacking industry
Kristy Nabhan-Warren’s ethnographic study complicates familiar views of the Corn Belt.
by Rob Kraft
A maid bears witness
Stephanie Land's memoir reveals the intimacy and power of a housecleaner’s labor.
The beauty of doing things by hand
What does it mean to make things, and why does it matter?
Some small good news for American low-wage workers: Walmart is increasing its wages at the low end. By April, no Walmart employee will make less than $9 an hour; a year from now it’ll be $10. The retailer is also moving to improve its scheduling practices, a source of worker complaints.
Walmart’s decision is a voluntary one, made for business reasons.
Preaching on biblical passages about labor and childbirth is important, but it's also dangerous.
When Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio announced his papal name, he stoked hopes for a season of reform in the spirit of St. Francis. In the weeks since, the Argentinian pontiff, who was shaped in part by his experiences in Buenos Aires’ villas miserias, has not disappointed.
Pope Francis has garnered headlines with his simplicity, as well as with his calls for a “Church for the poor.” The surprise his actions have met reflects, among other things, this: that when it comes to the matter of the haves and have nots, Christians these days tend not to rock the boat.
Scholars traveling to Chicago for the joint AAR–SBL meeting will have to make hard decisions—beginning with where to lay their heads.
The NFL gambled on fans’ willingness to endure the replacement refs. It was wrong—a good development for whatever ethical margin a football fan might claim.
I got the epidural. As the pain receded, I felt an ache of disappointment settle in.