News from the Week June 20 – June 24, 2022

Friend:

In a double attack on religious freedom, the Supreme Court made vividly clear this week that our country needs a national recommitment to the separation of church and state. On the heels of Tuesday’s decision forcing Maine taxpayers to fund the teaching of a religion that is not their own: [link removed], yesterday the court did the unthinkable—it abolished the constitutional right to abortion: [link removed]

Never in my lifetime did I or many of us imagine Roe v. Wade would be overturned. The ultra-conservative bloc is out of touch with the majority of Americans and implementing a Christian nationalist agenda. The decision in Dobbs v. Jackson is a direct attack on the separation of religion and government.

As soon as the decision came down, I and many of AU’s staff joined the immense crowd rallying at the Supreme Court to protest the decision. We were there to be in community with others mourning the decision and to channel our outrage. And we were there to proclaim that religious freedom demands the right to abortion so people can make their own reproductive decisions about their own bodies according to their own beliefs.

Abortion bans undermine religious freedom by imposing one religious viewpoint on all of us. That’s why Americans United is readying religious freedom litigation which will bring this argument to the courts. This week, we take to the streets to voice our support for reproductive and religious freedom. Soon we’ll take that fight to the courts. We won’t back down, and we won’t go backward.

The Carson v. Makin and Dobbs decisions—and especially Justice Thomas’ concurrence in Dobbs—spell out that so many of the rights and freedoms we have fought hard for and cherish are at risk. Contraception, marriage equality, and sexual intimacy. Racial justice. Public education. And above all, religious freedom—the right to live as ourselves and believe as we choose, as long as we don’t harm others. Religious extremists and their lawmaker allies are willing to destroy our democracy to force all of us to live by their narrow beliefs.

At AU, we’re using our pulpit to call for a national recommitment to the separation of church and state as the only way to safeguard our democracy and the freedom and equality it promises us all. In the immediate aftermath of this challenging Supreme Court term, we will be designing a national recommitment campaign—more on that soon.

One of our supporters wrote to me this week with these hopeful words: “This, too, shall pass, and we will continue to fight them at every turn. They may be winning the battles right now, but we will win the war.”

With your support, we are building a movement that will defeat the Christian nationalist crusade and reclaim religious freedom for people of all religions and none. I’m so proud to have you by our side in this work.

With hope and determination,

Rachel K. Laser
President and CEO


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60 Years Ago, The Supreme Court Handed Down A Pivotal Ruling On School Prayer:
In Engel v. Vitale, the Supreme Court ruled that New York public education officials could not draft a prayer for children and pressure them to recite it. Christian nationalists have spun a deceitful narrative about the ruling ever since, seeking to portray public education as hostile to religion.
READ MORE » [link removed]

A Bad Day At The Supreme Court—And A Vow To Keep Fighting:
At a time when religious diversity is growing and more Americans identify as secular, the high court seems determined to kowtow to Christian nationalists by forcing church and state into a shotgun wedding. But the court’s vision of America will not work for the nation we are now and are becoming.
READ MORE » [link removed]

Texas Leaders Should Legislate, Not Pontificate:
For some politicians, especially those who embrace Christian nationalism, invoking God and his mysterious ways can be a way to dodge doing the hard work of actually governing.
READ MORE » [link removed]


Get Involved—Check Out AU’s Upcoming Events:
Find additional details and a full list of events at [link removed]

Date TBD, 7:30 p.m. ET (Virtual): “Kennedy v. Bremerton School District Post-Decision Briefing.” Likely to occur this month the day after the Supreme Court's decision in this church-state separation case involving coercive prayer at a public school. Featuring analysis by AU experts. RSVP here: [link removed]

July 16, 7 p.m. ET (Virtual): “Steve Velkei on the Fight for Hoag Hospital,” featuring the attorney who helped a community hospital gain independence from a large health care system. Sponsored by AU’s Orange County, Calif., Chapter. RSVP here: [link removed]


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