Friend:

With Election Day fast approaching, I’ve been reflecting a lot on what it means to be American, and which groups have traditionally been allowed on the “inside” versus those who have been excluded.

In my November Church & State magazine column, I described two things we must do as part of our fight for a more inclusive America: acknowledge the fact that our country has not always lived up to its ideals, and use American symbols and ideals to advance our vision for the country. Click here to read more.

At Americans United, we proudly tout how very American our mission of religious freedom for all is. But we also highlight the many ways our country has and continues to fall short of achieving this ideal. And we never stop holding America accountable to the greatness it promises.

Together, we fought hard to stop Amy Coney Barrett’s confirmation as a Supreme Court justice. We fought even with the odds stacked against us because it was important to stand for our principles and build momentum for our movement. And now that keeping religion and government separate just became even more critical to the defense of our constitutional right to religious freedom – your involvement is more critical than ever.

The most important thing you can do now is simple: Vote!

Over 80 million people have already voted early. If you’re one of them, then take the next step and ensure your friends and family vote too. Exercising our right to vote is the best way to strengthen our democracy and all the principles of our Constitution.

Election Day is Tuesday, but AU’s work doesn’t take a pause when the polls close. In fact, the very next morning, on November 4th, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in a profoundly important case, Fulton v. City of Philadelphia. In it, a taxpayer-funded foster care agency is claiming a religious freedom right to discriminate against qualified families that are LGBTQ or don’t follow the agency's religious tenets.

AU has submitted a friend-of-the-court brief in this case on behalf of our clients Aimee Maddonna and Fatma Marouf and Bryn Esplin, along with other prospective foster parents discriminated against by foster care agencies in their states. The outcome of this case could have massive implications for the future of religious exemptions to antidiscrimination laws. We will be watching the arguments closely.

With so much at stake, these next few days are sure to be tense and anxious for many of us. But no matter what happens, AU stands ready and eager to continue our 73-year legacy of defending church-state separation, and that’s thanks to your enduring support.

With hope and determination,