News from the Week Feb. 20- Feb. 24, 2023
Friend:
This week we celebrated two significant victories in our efforts to protect religious freedom and public education – just in time for Public Schools Week, which begins on Monday!
Oklahoma’s attorney general on Thursday rescinded the former AG’s opinion that the state must allow religious public charter schools. This is great news ([link removed]) that comes after AU provided detailed legal analysis over the past two months to the Oklahoma virtual charter school board and attorney general explaining why creating the nation’s first religious public charter school would violate the separation of church and state and be a sea change for our democracy. Our Senior Litigation Counsel Kenneth Upton, who is from Oklahoma, even flew out to his home state to testify before the virtual charter school board. We’ll continue to press state officials to reject the pending application for a Catholic public virtual charter school.
Earlier this week, in a win for college students, the Biden administration announced ([link removed]) plans to rescind a Department of Education rule that forced public colleges and universities to sponsor and financially support religious student clubs that discriminate. Enacted by Trump’s Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, the rule forced students to subsidize clubs that discriminate against them. Colleges that didn’t enforce the Trump-DeVos rule risked losing federal funding that students depend on.
Americans United filed a lawsuit two years ago ([link removed]) to challenge the Trump-DeVos rule. Joined by American Atheists, we sued on behalf of the Secular Student Alliance, the largest nonreligious student organization in the country, and Declan Galli, an LGBTQ college student from California. The lawsuit has been on hold while the Biden administration was reconsidering the rule. AU’s Policy and Legal teams have worked tirelessly to end this and many other harmful Trump-administration policies that undermined church-state separation and turned religious freedom into a license to discriminate.
Stay tuned for when the Biden administration rolls back yet another harmful Trump-era policy. Please take a moment to celebrate with me the extensive and effective work of Americans United – which you make possible. Step by step, we continue to hold America to her promise of freedom without favor and equality without exception.
With hope and determination,
Rachel K. Laser
President and CEO
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Extremist ‘Proud Boys’ Are Increasingly Targeting Drag Queen Story Hours.
As part of their attack on LGBTQ rights, Christian Nationalist groups are urging state legislators to pass laws banning or restricting drag events. Clearly, this issue is the latest front in the right’s long-running culture war.
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Celebrate These Pioneers Of Religious Freedom During Black History Month.
Black Americans had to fight for all their rights, including religious freedom. In honor of Black History Month, read about a few of these champions of religious freedom and church-state separation.
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Proponents Of Church-State Separation Didn’t Start The ‘Culture War’ – But We’d Be Happy To End It.
Progressives didn’t start the culture war – Christian Nationalists did more than 40 years ago.
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Presidential Proclamations: Some Chief Executive Thoughts For The Holiday.
In honor of Presidents Day this past Monday, check out these great presidential classics on religious liberty!
READ MORE>> [link removed]
Get Involved—Check Out AU’s Upcoming Events:
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March 7, 7:30 p.m. ET (Virtual): "SRF Webinar Series: Unmasking Christian Nationalism in America," featuring AU’s Rachel Laser and Andrew L. Seidel and PRRI President and Founder Robert P. Jones for a deep dive into the underpinnings of white Christian Nationalism revealed by a new PRRI/Brookings survey. Sign up here: [link removed]
April 22 - April 24 (Virtual & In Person): The Summit for Religious Freedom (SRF) is a collaborative conference that will unify supporters, activists, organizers, policy and legal experts, academics, political and religious leaders, and committed people of faith and of no religion to fight for religious freedom. Sign up here: [link removed]
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