Friend:

Happy New Year! 2020 was, without question, a rough year. Those of us who work every day to protect and expand church-state separation had to roll with the punches along with everyone else.

But I hope, as I write to you on the second day of 2021, that what lies ahead is a year full of opportunities to restore the damage done to the bedrock American principle of religious freedom by the Trump administration and its allies.

As is made clear by AU’s agenda for the Biden-Harris administration, we see this year as a chance to go beyond repairing the separation of religion and government and begin strengthening it for future generations.

On our blog, AU’s Liz Hayes wrote about the biggest church-state stories of 2020, and as we turn the page to 2021, I’ve gathered a few of those biggest moments in the blog posts below.

I hope you can take a few moments to read about these stand-out stories, and then join me in closing the book on 2020 for good.

Best wishes in the new year,