Friend:

At President Trump’s State of the Union address on Tuesday, we once again found ourselves in opposites land. “My administration is also defending religious liberty,” Trump boasted.

This couldn’t be further from the truth: The president is attacking religious freedom on all fronts, as I detail in my video response to the State of the Union, which you can watch here.

Trump also took full advantage of his platform to brag about his administration’s “defense” of prayer in public schools. But let’s be clear: The administration’s recent actions are intended to encourage coercive prayer, including at school events; invite aggressive peer-to-peer proselytization; and permit teachers to participate with students in religious activity.

This isn’t defending students’ religious freedom; it’s granting religious privilege to those students who are part of the majority religion in their schools – and opening the door to bullying, harassment and ostracism of religious minorities and LGBTQ students.

Speaking of students, this month AU officially kicked off the 2020 Student Essay Contest! Open to all students and with a first-place prize of $1,500 (and publication in Church & State magazine), this contest gives students a chance to connect to church-state separation.

Please click here to learn more about this year’s essay contest, and share it with the students in your life (or participate, if you’re eligible!).

Friend, I am so grateful you are part of our movement. Your support enables AU to continue our critical work every day to protect a core tenet of our democracy during quite a moment in history.

With hope and determination,