Friend:

First of all, I hope this email finds everyone well. We’re living during a strange, liminal period where I think it’s fair to say things aren’t entirely back to “normal”—if they ever even will be. It’s a bit of a hard period again I think for many of us, and I hope each and every one of you is doing okay.

Here at AU, it’s so impressive to see how everyone continues to bring their full heart and talents to our work—including to protecting the religious freedom of students. Some good news this week is that a federal appeals court declined to rehear Kennedy v. Bremerton School District, leaving in place a good ruling in favor of the school district, AU’s client.

The case is about an assistant high school football coach who insisted that he had a right to pray with players and students at the 50-yard line after games. The school district officials understood this was wrong—no student athlete should feel compelled to join their coach’s public prayers.

AU has supported the Bremerton School District’s defense of its students’ religious freedom since 2017, filing a friend-of-the-court brief in which we were joined by nearly a dozen religious and civil-rights organizations, and presenting oral arguments to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals—twice. We’ve since joined the legal team representing the district. This week’s news is a victory for religious freedom, but the coach’s lawyers have already promised to ask the Supreme Court to hear this case. If that happens, rest assured that Americans United will be ready to defend students’ rights at our nation’s highest court. 

It’s not just school prayer causing a stir this week: A private religious school in Michigan was in court on Wednesday arguing that requiring their students to wear masks in school violates their religious freedom. The school claims that it is their “sincerely held religious belief” that humans were made in the image of God, and that masks shield that image from view.

We filed a friend-of-the-court brief in this case to make clear that the Constitution does not require religious exemptions from science-based public health laws. Since the very beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, AU has fought to ensure that religious freedom is not misused to privilege one group’s religious beliefs over the lives or wellbeing of others. 

One last thing, speaking of students: AU’s email manager Ethan Haughie, the staff person I have worked most closely with on sending out these weekly updates, is leaving AU this week so he can get ready to begin law school this fall. Ethan has been a tremendous asset in every way to AU and a pleasure to work with! We will miss him but are proud to have him as part of our AU family.

Friend, thank you too for being part of our AU family. At the end of the day, it’s the community that you are part of that gives Americans United the strength to protect church-state separation amid such challenging times.

With hope and determination,