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.

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