Friend:

A Muslim, a Christian and a Jew walk into a bar…. Well, it wasn’t a bar, it was the Reform Jewish Movement’s Commission on Social Action meeting this past Wednesday, and we discussed the threat of White Christian Nationalism and what to do about it. 

With me were my friend Robby Jones, president and founder of Public Religion Research Institute and author of (among other books) White Too Long: The Legacy of White Supremacy in American Christianity, and the brilliant Wajahat Ali, author of Go Back To Where You Came From: And Other Helpful Recommendations on How to Become American. We laughed about how we were the start of a good joke but left feeling buoyed because it’s empowering to come together across our differences and fight for the promises of American democracy. It was quite a morning, and we may have to take our show on the road. 

None of you will be surprised by what I said: As the country’s demographics change and America’s progress towards a more inclusive society continues, White conservative Christians are raging against the dying of their privilege. Church-state separation is the xxxxxx that stops them from codifying their privilege in our laws. 

As the Jew on the panel speaking to a Jewish audience, I explained how White Christian Nationalism is a threat to Jews’ lives, Jews’ equality and the Reform Jewish movement’s values that insist on equality for all marginalized communities. But I could make—and have made—the same points about any group of Americans because these threats apply to all of us.

We see the threat to our lives in mass shootings perpetrated by neo-Nazis and white supremacists targeting racial and religious minorities. We saw it at the rally in Charlottesville and the vehicle attack that killed Heather Heyer. We saw it during the violent assault on American democracy on Jan. 6, 2021. 

The threat to equality can be seen on AU’s legal docket. In case after case, we’re fighting against taxpayer-funded discrimination. Liz and Gabe Rutan-Ram couldn’t adopt a little boy because they are Jewish. The Christian foster care agency—funded with your tax dollars—refused to serve them because they’re not evangelicals. Other clients were in similar situations because they’re Catholic, or LGBTQ, or fought back against racism. We can also see the threat to equality in our abortion lawsuit, where 14 clergy from seven different denominations are challenging Missouri’s abortion bans as a violation of the separation of church and state. 

White Christian Nationalism threatens our democracy. The Jan. 6 insurrection demonstrated vividly that Christian Nationalists will stop at nothing to secure their power and privilege–and that includes toppling our democracy. 

That’s the bad news. The good news is that more people are understanding the importance of church-state separation. AU was made for this moment. And we’re calling for a national recommitment to keep church and state separate. As our loyal, smart, passionate members, YOU are leaders in this campaign. So please start by visiting AU.org/Pledge and sign the Pledge today if you haven’t already. Once you sign the pledge, help us grow our ranks by sharing it with your friends, families and communities. We are the majority. Now let’s build some power! 

With hope and determination,

Rachel K. Laser
President and CEO