Friend:

It blows my mind that amid a public health crisis concerning a virus for which we have no treatment or inoculation, Americans United must continue to fight for the right of government officials to include religious gatherings in their temporary bans on large gatherings. This is despite continued devastating reports about coronavirus outbreaks and deaths resulting from those who are insisting on still meeting in person for worship.

Late Sunday, we urged the U.S. District Court in Eastern Kentucky to allow the state’s temporary ban to remain in place without exemptions for religious services. This is the sixth friend-of-the-court brief AU has filed in such cases – and more are planned.

Unfortunately, in Kansas last weekend, a federal court blocked Gov. Laura Kelly’s public health order from including religious gatherings. We quickly denounced this decision – an outlier that, out of 11 known court decisions nationwide on coronavirus religious exemptions, is the only one to block a state’s temporary restrictions from being applied to religious gatherings since the coronavirus outbreak began. I joined NPR’s All Things Considered to provide some thoughts in their short piece, “Church Closings Due To Epidemic Become The New Religious Freedom Frontier.” Click here to listen now.

As we stay vigilant in our response to the coronavirus pandemic, we are working hard on another crucial proactive part of our mission: building a new generation of church-state separation leaders. This week, we launched AU’s first-ever Youth Organizing Fellowship. We are looking for 10 young people (ages 18-25) to join AU and organize in their communities. To learn more about this vital new leadership program, visit au.org/youthfellows and please share news of this exciting opportunity with your friends and family.

The staff and I continue to be bolstered by your messages of hope and appreciation. We love hearing from you about how and what you’re doing, and we love your passion for AU and church-state separation. If you haven’t already, please shoot me a “reply” email and tell us how you’re faring.

With hope and determination,