News From The Week Of March 30 – April 4, 2020

Friend:

How have you been faring during these unsettling times? At AU, our talented staff is busier than ever, fighting doggedly to stave off new efforts to undermine church-state separation arising with the COVID-19 outbreak.

While we have been heartened to see an increasing number of government officials and faith communities taking this public health crisis seriously, there is a dangerous trend among others who are wrongly claiming that there is a religious freedom right to make people sick with coronavirus.

This week, Americans United filed a friend-of-the-court brief ([link removed]) urging the Texas Supreme Court to allow Harris County’s temporary ban on large gatherings to continue to include houses of worship, despite a challenge from some faith leaders. But shortly thereafter, Texas Gov. Abbott chose to override the county’s public health order and allow houses of worship to continue their in-person services while other gatherings in the county are strictly limited.

AU has made clear, including to officials in California, Kansas, Michigan, and New Mexico, that granting religious exemptions that cause harm to others is both immoral and unconstitutional. As I’ve said in media reports from ABC News ([link removed]) to Bloomberg News ([link removed]), this virus does not discriminate – it endangers people whether they gather for religious or secular purposes, and it puts entire communities at risk.

Last week, I asked you to let us know how you’re holding up, and I was so happy to hear from those who reached out! If you haven’t yet and you are so inclined, please just click “reply” and drop us a line about how you’re doing. These are tough times, but it is so much better to know that we are all in this together.

In solidarity,

Rachel K. Laser
President and CEO

Church, State And The Coronavirus: An Update Of Recent Developments:
We’ve seen several important church-state developments related to the coronavirus pandemic. Here’s a round-up of recent news.
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Note To Christian Nationalist Pastors: You Don’t Have A Constitutional Right To Make People Sick:
When the health and well-being of the population is at stake, public officials have a duty to take steps to protect it.
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Deadline Approaching: Enter AU’s Annual Student Essay Contest Now:
Americans United understands how important it is to engage Generation Z in the fight for the freedom to practice any religion we want or no religion at all, so long as we aren’t harming others.
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A Calif. Pastor Wrongly Believes He’s Above The Law. Americans United Is Setting The Record Straight:
After a Religious Right legal group tried to bully Lodi, Calif., officials into not enforcing a public health order against a defiant church, AU stepped in.
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The Religious Right’s Disdain For Science Is Exactly What We Don’t Need Right Now:
Anyone who tracks the Religious Right, as we do assiduously here at Americans United, is familiar with the tendency of these groups to heap disdain and scorn on science.
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Americans United for Separation of Church and State
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