News From The Week Of July 13 – July 17, 2020

Friend:

We learned late last night of the death of civil rights leader John Lewis. Representative Lewis was a champion of church-state separation, religious freedom and the rights of all minorities. It’s so very hard to say goodbye to him. Read my full statement here: [link removed]

As AU’s Board Chair the Rev. Neal Jones wrote on Facebook last night: “All his life, John Lewis got in good trouble, and now he can finally rest. But we can't!”

Let me reassure you, Americans United is not resting. This week, AU was instrumental in another clear win for religious freedom. A U.S. District Court in New Mexico has rejected an Albuquerque-area megachurch’s request for a religious exemption to public health orders that temporarily limit both religious and secular gatherings.

The judge’s opinion extensively referenced not only AU’s friend-of-the-court brief, which argued that it would be unconstitutional to completely exempt religious gatherings from the orders, but also the oral argument delivered by AU Associate Legal Director Alex Luchenitser (by phone!). Read more about it here.

The judge’s opinion extensively referenced not only AU’s friend-of-the-court brief, which argued that it would be unconstitutional to completely exempt religious gatherings from the orders, but also the oral argument delivered by AU Associate Legal Director Alex Luchenitser (by phone!). Read more about it here: [link removed]

Even in these unprecedented and difficult times, we must adhere to the Constitution. That includes its protections against taxpayers being forced to fund religious activities and clergy salaries. The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), created by the CARES Act COVID-19 emergency stimulus funding, is no exception. It’s been in the news a lot lately, so I want to affirm AU’s position: PPP funding of clergy salaries is a stark violation of the First Amendment's religious freedom protections.

Right after the CARES Act was signed into law, AU sent a letter to the Small Business Administration (SBA) expressing our concerns about the potential for violations of church-state separation, educated members of Congress about the problem, and opposed the rule by submitting formal comments. In the coming days, our policy team will be releasing an in-depth analysis of the available PPP data to determine the full scope of houses of worship, religious schools and other religious institutions that received taxpayer funds. Our initial findings are troubling to say the least.

In numerous press reports, I, AU VP of Public Policy Maggie Garrett and AU Senior Adviser Rob Boston have made it clear that taxpayers funding clergy salaries is a violation of church-state separation.

Let us all be inspired by the tremendous legacy of Rep. John Lewis to get active like never before. Here are a few things of many you can do: Follow @AmericansUnited on social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) and post about church-state separation and our country’s continued struggle to attain our promise of equality for all, tell some friends about the vital role Americans United is playing and urge them to support us, or write a letter to the editor in your local newspaper.

Thank you for being a valued member of AU’s movement, friend. I know that together, we can continue to defend our country’s fundamental promise of religious freedom.

In solidarity,

Rachel K. Laser
President and CEO

You Can Help Keep Church And State Separate:
In light of the recent Supreme Court rulings and the Trump administration's continued attacks on real religious freedom, it’s important to recognize that the fight for separation of religion and government is far from over. More work needs to be done to guarantee that all Americans can live as they wish without fear of religious discrimination.
READ MORE » [link removed]

95 Years After The Scopes Trial, Christian Nationalists Still Oppose Teaching Evolution In Public Schools:
The Scopes Trial is one of the most important religious freedom cases of the 20th century. It involved a fight to uphold the separation of church and state in the classroom by allowing students in Tennessee to learn about the scientific theory of evolution.
READ MORE » [link removed]

Religious Freedom And Racial Justice: A Critical Nexus:
AU CEO Rachel Laser reflects on how integrally connected AU’s work is to dismantling racism. At the heart of our work is fighting Christian nationalism, and most Christian nationalists are white Christians who rely on the myth that America is a “Christian nation” to perpetuate white Christian power.
READ MORE » [link removed]

The Religious Freedom Dilemma: Politics Are A Threat to Reproductive Justice:
AU Senior Faith Adviser Dr. Sabrina Dent writes about why our commitment to religious freedom and church-state separation issues cannot be divorced from our convictions about centering marginalized communities in discussions on reproductive justice.
READ MORE » [link removed]

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