Friend:

I hope you had a joyful Thanksgiving with some tasty food and perhaps a satisfying (enough) Zoom or two. In case you missed it, our team made a special thank you video for you featuring some of our favorite at-home “coworkers,” including my own canine colleague, Teddy. Check it out here (note: there are cute dog and cat photos galore – you have been warned!)

This year continues to be unlike any other in recent memory, with a set of challenges that none of us could have predicted. Case in point: On Thursday, the U.S. Supreme Court voted 5-4 to block limits New York placed on the size of religious gatherings in neighborhoods experiencing high rates of coronavirus transmission, even though the state had placed stricter limits on nonreligious gatherings.

This reversal by the Supreme Court of its decisions earlier this year advances a perverse and harmful definition of “religious freedom” and endangers the public health of everyone in New York as coronavirus cases surge to record-breaking heights. As I said in my statement, it’s shocking that the Supreme Court would ignore the fundamental principle that religious freedom cannot be used to cause harm, especially in the midst of a worsening pandemic.

Friend, AU has been leading the effort to ensure our Constitution’s promise of religious freedom is protected and applied correctly during this pandemic. We have filed 42 amicus briefs opposing religious exemptions from coronavirus-related public-health orders in court cases across the country, including three in the U.S. Supreme Court. Until Thursday’s Supreme Court decision, the vast majority of courts had protected religious freedom and public health by refusing to grant religious exemptions for in-person worship services.

But the Supreme Court’s decision will make it much more difficult to defend state public-health orders against religion-based lawsuits, and underscores how much work we have ahead of us. If you want to help support our efforts to protect church-state separation, there’s no better time than right now. Giving Tuesday, a global day of charitable giving that can power nonprofits like AU with a groundswell of donations, is almost here. This year, every Giving Tuesday gift to AU will be matched*, dollar for dollar, by a generous group of AU donors, making every gift twice as impactful.

You can donate an early matched Giving Tuesday gift to support our work right now.

Thanks for all you do to sustain our mission. We couldn’t wish for a more committed base of supporters to help us tackle the unprecedented challenges of today.

With hope and gratitude,