News From The Week Of October 14 – October 18, 2019

Friend:

I’m filling in for Rachel this week while she accepts an award on behalf of Americans United from the Freedom From Religion Foundation. We’re all proud to be honored for the work we’ve done to protect the separation of religion and government, and your support is what made it possible.

This week we saw the Trump administration’s embrace of Christian nationalism hit an alarming new level. Amid the administration’s daily chaos, church-state separation was thrust into the spotlight. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo gave a proselytizing speech titled “Being a Christian Leader,” which was then prominently featured on the State Department’s website.

That’s why yesterday AU sent a letter demanding an investigation of Pompeo and the Department of State for church-state violations. Read it here: [link removed]

It’s obvious that this administration is trying to paint itself as defenders of religious privilege – in the past week, we also saw Attorney General William Barr denounce secularism and President Trump cater to fundamentalist Christians at the Values Voter Summit.

The fact is this: religious freedom is the right for everyone to practice their religion, or no religion at all, so long as they don’t harm others. With that in mind, AU will continue to hold this administration accountable for its attempts to misuse religious freedom for their own benefit.

With appreciation for your support,

Rob Boston
Senior Adviser and Editor of Church & State Magazine

Under Growing Scrutiny For Misdeeds, The Trump Administration Embraces Christian Nationalism:
You don’t have to be a cynic to question the timing of this eruption of God talk. We have an administration that claims to be championing Christian values at a time when news headlines every day expose more rot and corruption within it.
READ MORE » [link removed]

Religious Freedom – Hard To Find At The Values Voter Summit:
There was an unexpected shout-out to the true meaning of religious freedom at the Values Voter Summit, a gathering of conservative Christians who devoted most of the event to talking about strategies for inserting their extremist religious beliefs into government policy, the courts, public schools and communities – often at the expense of women, LGBTQ people, religious minorities and others.
READ MORE » [link removed]

Ralph Reed Is Telling Christians They Must Support Trump. Some Aren’t Buying It:
In his new book, Ralph Reed asserts that Christians 'have a moral obligation to enthusiastically back' Trump. The book is titled 'For God and Country: The Christian case for Trump,' but its original title, believe it or not, was 'Render to God and Trump.'
READ MORE » [link removed]

America Is Changing. That Means We’re Going To Need Church-State Separation More Than Ever:
As the Pew report makes clear, our country is changing. When it comes to religion, we’re more diverse than ever. While far-right fundamentalists who are convinced that only their narrow version of faith is 'true' may tremble at this news, the rest of us should celebrate.
READ MORE » [link removed]

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