News from the week Jan. 24 – Jan. 28, 2022

Friend:

As things tend to do in the nation’s capital, time paused when word broke Wednesday that Justice Stephen G. Breyer is retiring. Yet the reality that the Supreme Court’s 6-3 conservative majority will remain firmly in place robbed the news of the drama that accompanied the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, which further solidified the Court’s hostility toward many fundamental American values, including the separation of religion and government: [link removed]

Justice Breyer joined the Court nearly three decades ago in the less politically charged days of Justices Blackmun, Stevens, O'Connor and Souter. His nomination in 1994 was largely intended to unify. How sad that we seem so far from not only achieving but even dreaming of that goal today.

Over the years, Justice Breyer proved to be a reliable advocate for religious freedom, but something less than a champion. AU will best remember him for his defense of religious minorities and, most recently, of government officials trying to protect public health during a deadly pandemic as some houses of worship demanded the privilege to ignore in-person gathering limits. We also appreciate Justice Breyer for his efforts to temper the opinions of his conservative colleagues by advancing more moderate approaches that lessened their harm.

For that, we will always be grateful. But in 2022, we need unbridled champions of true religious freedom.

More than ever before, the integrity of church-state separation is center stage on the Court’s docket. Will women soon be forced to submit to other people’s religious standards when making decisions about their own lives and bodies? Will Christian banners rise from government flagpoles? Will public schools be required to ignore when coaches pressure students to pray?

I was thrilled to see President Biden’s promise of a Black female nominee, as there is a rich bench to choose from and our Court is much in need of diverse perspectives. We deserve a nominee who will also make it known that she is committed to the fundamental right of all of us to live as ourselves and believe as we choose. We need a nominee who understands that religious freedom is a shield that protects us and never a sword that licenses harm to others or discrimination. We are urging President Biden to nominate someone who will protect religious freedom during a time when the American experiment feels the most at risk as it ever has in my lifetime.

While the rest of us give all we have to reverse the tide of religious extremism, America’s 104th Supreme Court justice must defend our country’s constitutional principle of separation of religion and government like our democracy depends on it—because it does.

With hope and gratitude,

Rachel K. Laser
President and CEO

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For ‘School Choice Week,’ Arm Yourself With Facts About The Problems With Vouchers:
Voucher plans bestow choice, all right—just not to parents. Private religious schools that receive public funds from private school vouchers retain the right to decide who gets in and who doesn’t.
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S.D. Legislators Decide Not To Meddle In Public School Students’ Prayer Practices:
Public school students in South Dakota (and the other states) can pray during free time on their own, as guided by conscience. They don’t need to be directed to do that, even obliquely.
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Christian Nationalist Belief In ‘Prophets’ May Be Fueling Extremism:
The prophets, who claim to speak for God, have likely fueled political extremism. Their followers are convinced that what they are hearing is unshakeable truth from on high.
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On Behalf Of Jewish Couple, AU Files First Lawsuit Challenging Tennessee Law That Promotes Discrimination In Foster Care:
Gabe and Liz Rutan-Ram of Tennessee were seeking to foster-to-adopt a 3-year-old boy from Florida. But those plans fell through when a taxpayer-funded foster care agency said it wouldn't help them because they're Jewish. With AU's help, Gabe and Liz are suing because a new state law unconstitutionally permits such religious discrimination by foster care agencies in Tennessee.
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Americans United for Separation of Church and State
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