News from the Week March 27 - March 31, 2023

Friend:

The U.S. Supreme Court is about to hear another religious-freedom case, and along with it comes yet another opportunity for the ultra-conservative majority to undermine church-state separation and weaponize religious freedom.

On April 18, they’ll hear a case called Groff v. DeJoy, which invites the court to expand the religious accommodations employers must grant to workers, even if they place excessive burdens on coworkers or customers. AU supports reasonable religious accommodations for workers, but that’s not what this case is about. First Liberty Institute – the Christian Nationalist legal group that opposed AU in last year’s Kennedy v. Bremerton case and a powerful member of the billion-dollar Shadow Network – is behind this litigation. First Liberty’s goal is not to protect the religious freedom of marginalized religious minorities, but to secure more privilege for the majority religion, Christianity.

First Liberty represents a mail carrier, but not the kind of career carrier that typically delivers your mail. Their client was a part-time, rural mail carrier who was hired to work flexible hours and cover weekend and holiday shifts at a 4-person post office. His supervisors tried to accommodate his beliefs, but his job required him to work a flexible schedule. Over the course of 14 months, he refused to show up for 24 Sunday shifts, citing his religious beliefs. This led other employees – nearly all church-going Christians – to resign, transfer, file grievances or cover for him while he watched NASCAR after church on Sundays. But First Liberty still thinks the U.S. Postal Service didn’t do enough to accommodate him.

I’ve talked to several reporters in the last week (stay tuned for an upcoming piece on ABC News) warning that this case is a wolf in sheep’s clothing: It’s part of Christian Nationalists’ crusade to secure privilege for those who share their narrow religious beliefs – at the cost of everyone else’s religious freedom. Americans United also filed a brief ([link removed]) in the case on Thursday that urges the justices to respect the rights of coworkers who are asked to shoulder the burden of others’ religious practice.

Our civil rights laws rightly require religious accommodations for workers, which is especially important for religious minorities whose rights and customs might not be respected in the workplace. But there’s a big difference between allowing an employee to wear religious garb or grow a beard, and making a few coworkers cover all of the Sunday shifts someone was hired to work. Religious freedom does not mean we can shift the burden of practicing our faith onto other people. Religious freedom has never been a license to harm others, in employment or any other facet of life.

This case will be argued just a few days before our inaugural Summit for Religious Freedom (SRF) begins in Washington, D.C., and virtually on April 22-24. The Supreme Court, Christian Nationalism and protecting church-state separation will be prominent topics at SRF ([link removed]) – I hope to see you there! Now more than ever we need to unite for a national recommitment to the separation of church and state.

With hope and determination,

Rachel K. Laser
President and CEO

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Florida’s New Voucher Bill Threatens The Very Existence Of Public Education. Backers Want To Export It To Other States.
An unholy alliance of Christian Nationalists and extreme free marketeers who hate public education is eager to export private school voucher plans to other states.
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How A Great Work Of Art Cost A Fla. Principal Her Job.
Some parents are demanding the ability to examine everything that’s taught in the classroom and remove material that doesn’t meet with their approval – and Christian Nationalist groups are leading this charge.
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Congressman Proposes ‘Public’ Libraries Run By Churches.
U.S. Rep. Clay Higgins of Louisiana and other Christian Nationalists want to choke off access to any information they don’t like.
READ MORE>> [link removed]

Matilda Gage Fought For Church-State Separation In The 19th Century. Her Struggle Lives On Today.
As religious groups lobbied for a 'Christian Amendment' to the Constitution in the late 19th century, Matilda Gage feared that all government legislation could become subject to a church-doctrine litmus test.
READ MORE>> [link removed]

Get Involved—Check Out AU’s Upcoming Events:
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April 22 - April 24 (Virtual & In Person): The Summit for Religious Freedom (SRF) is a collaborative conference that will unify supporters, activists, organizers, policy and legal experts, academics, political and religious leaders, and committed people of faith and of no religion to fight for religious freedom. Sign up here: [link removed]


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