News From The Week Of February 1 – February 5, 2021

Friend:

On Thursday, President Joe Biden joined an unbroken line of presidents stretching back to President Eisenhower by attending the National Prayer Breakfast. What most people don’t know (but you may well) is that the Prayer Breakfast is sponsored by the Fellowship Foundation (aka The Family), an intentionally covert Christian fundamentalist group promoting a regressive political agenda.

If you missed the news of this year’s Prayer Breakfast, you are in good company. After four years of President Trump repeatedly using the Breakfast to unveil cruel policies that misused religious freedom to override critical civil rights protections, this year’s virtual gathering was – thankfully – comparatively low key.

That’s not to say that the event doesn’t still serve to advance a dangerous and divisive agenda. AU urged Biden to use this opportunity to call out the very real threat of religious extremism that fueled the attack on our nation’s Capitol last month ([link removed]).

I was happy to see President Biden do just that. As I told the Religion News Service, “There has never been a more important moment for a president to call out white Christian nationalists who so recently tried to overturn our government, and desecrated the most sacred part of our democracy, than now” ([link removed]).

I also had the chance to speak with The Associated Press about the future of the National Prayer Breakfast, and made clear that if President Biden wants to connect with people on the basis of shared spiritual belief, AU would welcome a chance “to work with the administration to figure out a way to change the sponsorship of an event like this and to make it a place for Americans of all different religious beliefs,” including those who do not practice any religion at all ([link removed]).

We have a long way to go in untangling church and state. That was evident yet again last night, when the U.S. Supreme Court issued an order that misconstrued religious freedom to undermine public health in two cases involving religious groups challenging pandemic-related orders in California that limit large gatherings. Though the Supreme Court’s decision could have been worse – the Court blocked some of California’s restrictions while leaving others in place – the Court’s ruling is a scary one because it demonstrates that six Supreme Court Justices are willing to substitute their own views for those of public health officials to give special rights to religion. You can read my statement here: [link removed]

Friend, we know our challenges are great, but AU will keep working to ensure religious privilege is not put above the health of the American people. Thanks for being with us on this crucial mission.

With hope and determination,

Rachel K. Laser
President and CEO

It’s Time To Move Beyond The National Prayer Breakfast:
The National Prayer Breakfast’s roots stretch back to the 1950s, an era when 'God and country' rhetoric was employed to fend off the threat of 'godless communism.' It’s an echo of an America where the white Protestant power structure was still ensconced, and the best outsiders could hope for was not true equality but a measure of toleration.
READ MORE » [link removed]

The Spotlight Is On White Christian Nationalism – Will It Wither?:
White Christian nationalists backed an insurrection designed to keep a man in the nation’s highest office after he was voted out, and when they were called on it, they tried to pin the attack on others.
READ MORE » [link removed]

Bills Granting Houses Of Worship Special Treatment During Pandemics Are Pending In Several States:
AU recognizes the importance of religious freedom, but we also realize that during a deadly pandemic, officials must have the ability to take steps to protect the people.
READ MORE » [link removed]

An Inclusive America Can Overcome The Nationalists Who Assaulted Our Capitol:
A mob of white Christian nationalists inflamed by President Donald Trump’s incendiary rhetoric – waving “Jesus saves” banners and parading crosses alongside their Confederate flags – traumatized and destabilized the nation.
READ MORE » [link removed]

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Americans United for Separation of Church and State
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