Friend,

Powerful. Vast. Influential. A billion-dollar shadow network has stalked American courts for decades, quietly working to upend democracy and equality by undermining the separation of church and state and redefining religious freedom. The powerbrokers at the center of this web handpick Supreme Court justices, select the cases those justices decide, and craft alternative facts or “deceitful narratives” for the media and justices to use when discussing those cases. Their goal is a Christian nation, and nothing is safe, especially church-state separation.

Americans United fights for a long-standing constitutional principle that allows Americans to come together as equals to build a stronger democracy. Democracy, equality, and freedom all depend on the separation of church and state—and the separation of church and state in turn enables those values. At AU, we don't have a billion-dollar war chest, or a cable news empire dedicated to spreading our message, or courts packed with our handpicked judges; but we do have truth. In the spirit of truth, we’re unveiling a new series for you: Exposing the Shadow Network. 

Each month through a special series of emails, we’ll take a look at one of the cogs in this lucrative, clandestine network. We’ll document the group’s public ties, funding, cases, and connections so that you can better understand just what we’re up against. 

Americans United has tangled with just about every religious extremist and Christian Nationalist group around—Alliance Defending Freedom, American Center for Law and Justice, Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, Liberty Counsel, First Liberty Institute. Their names may be an Orwellian word salad, but they’re key cogs in this shady machine. Their tendrils stretch to every corner of American politics and law. You’ll hear about each one in the coming weeks.

Their goal is to destroy the separation of church and state and turn our understanding of religious freedom on its head. They seek to concentrate political power and legal privilege in conservative white Christians. The end point of white Christian Nationalism is the toppling of our democracy—nothing less than that. They are prepared to stop at nothing in their desperate grab for power. We must stop them. In this new email series, Exposing the Shadow Network, we’ll bring that knowledge to you. And then you can help us fight back. We need all the help we can get. 

Next month, you’ll learn about First Liberty Institute, the group that spun the “deceitful narrative” for Coach Kennedy. Just one of many shady dealings the group has had over the last decade.  

In Solidarity,

Rachel K. Laser
President and CEO