Dear Friend,

This was a scary year for church-state separation and for the country. Christian Nationalists, backed by a billion-dollar Shadow Network, have attempted to undermine church-state separation, redefine religious freedom, and legalize discrimination.

We have our work cut out for us, but AU has a formidable team working to shine a light on and defeat these groups. Most importantly, we have YOU and your steadfast commitment to keep religion and government separate. Will you be among the first to make a matched donation to help us reach our $100,000 year-end goal?

Joining today is especially important because so many of our fundamental rights are at risk and under threat:

• Christian Nationalists now have a strong ally in U.S. Rep. Mike Johnson as Speaker of the House—and second in line to the presidency. He has a long history of advancing policies that weaponize religious freedom as a license to discriminate. At AU, we fight to preserve church-state separation because it’s the shield that protects everyone’s right to live as themselves and believe as they choose.
   
• Anti-abortion extremists are trying to impose their religious beliefs on all of us by banning abortions and blocking access to abortion drugs. Your support enables AU to fight for reproductive and religious freedom—like with our landmark lawsuit challenging Missouri’s abortion ban.
   
• Christian Nationalists have launched a full-on assault on public education. They’re banning books; censoring classroom lessons; attempting to replace guidance counselors with untrained chaplains; encouraging teachers to impose prayer on students; and trying to display the Ten Commandments in classrooms. AU is on the front lines: This year we filed a lawsuit to stop Oklahoma from creating the nation’s first religious public charter school—“the first of many” such schools our opponents want to replicate “around the country.”
   
• Emboldened by recent US Supreme Court decisions, state legislators introduced hundreds of private school voucher bills this year. These bills would send tax dollars to religious schools that favor one religious worldview and can discriminate against LGBTQ+ children and families, and refuse to adequately serve students with disabilities. Your support is enabling AU and our allies to fight back; we’re celebrating that my home state of Illinois just became the first state ever to end an existing private school voucher program.

Friend, if we’re going to save the freedoms we cherish, we need a national recommitment to the separation of church and state. This bedrock principle is necessary for our country to move toward its goal of freedom without favor and equality without exception.

Join Americans United now so we can begin the next year with the resources we need to win this pivotal fight!

Together, we’ll continue to defend true religious freedom in the coming year.

With hope and determination,

Rachel K. Laser
President and CEO

*Online contributions will be matched through Dec. 31, 2023, up to a limit of $100,000. All gifts made in excess of this limit will still provide valuable funding for AU’s efforts to defend church-state separation.