The separation of church and state was well represented at one party convention this summer. The Democratic platform includes the following language: “…That's why Democrats will protect the First Amendment right to free exercise of religion for everyone, and we will maintain the separation of church and state. In contrast, the Trump Administration attacked religious freedom by demonizing some faiths and preferring others.”
In addition, church-state separation was featured during a panel discussion at the convention on Christian nationalism and how it affects the political sphere and threatens democracy. Congressmen Jared Huffman (D-CA) and Jamie Raskin (D-MD), the co-founders of the Congressional Freethought Caucus, were on the panel as well as Congressman Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO) and Dr. Khyati Y. Joshi of Fairleigh Dickinson University. The moderator was Katherine Stewart, author of The Power Worshippers: Inside the Dangerous Rise of Religious Nationalism.
Congressman Raskin pointed out all the ways Christian nationalism violates the basic precepts of the Constitution. Congressman Cleaver took a more faith-based approach: “God shall not be pimped," he said [meaning for political gain]. He also noted that “nothing about God is in the Constitution.” You can watch the panel here or read more in this article from People's World. I’m confident that’s the first time I’ve linked to an article in People’s World, formerly The Daily Worker, the newspaper of the American Communist Party. I’m sure there’s a godless communist joke to be made here but hey, People’s World did cover the panel discussion.
SAVE THE DATE: Lobby Day 2025 is scheduled for Tuesday, March 11. We are a ways off from knowing what issue we will focus on but the format will be generally the same as last spring; we make the meeting appointments, coach you up a little, and you talk to your representatives about a bill or issue important to nonreligious Americans. We have rooms reserved at the Phoenix Park Hotel on Capitol Hill. There will be a reception Monday evening. We will let you know when the registration page is up and running but please consider attending (again). No one can make an impression on members of Congress like their constituents can.
The 2023 Census of American Religion came out this week courtesy of the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) and it’s full of interesting data as always. Here’s one graph I’m borrowing: the rise of the religiously unaffiliated.
The research includes differences in religion by political party so I’m reading that closely. In fact, one of the PRRI Fellows will be speaking on this topic at our annual Secular Capitol Hill Staff Lunch in a few weeks. The staff get to know the Secular Coalition for America, we get to know the staff, the staff gets pizza. It’s win-win-win.
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