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One year later today, remember Buffalo.
Celestine Chaney, 65
Roberta A. Drury, 32
Andre Mackniel, 53
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Margus D. Morrison, 52
Heyward Patterson, 67
Aaron Salter, Jr., 55
Geraldine Talley, 62
Ruth Whitfield, 86
Pearl Young, 77
We are proud to be a co-sponsor on this weekend's mobilization in response to Michael Flynn's ReAwaken America Tour, which is one of the worst examples of theocratic Christian nationalism in the U.S. today.
We've got a message as they gather at Trump Doral in Miami:
📢 Millions of Christians reject Christian nationalism. Stop twisting faith to attack democracy.
Separation of church & state is under threat in Collier County, Florida public schools. In response, Interfaith Alliance of Southwest Florida is calling on the CCPS School Board to challenge any and all efforts to “Christianize” their public schools.
For more on this challenge to religious freedom (and how our movement is pushing back against it), read this powerful piece from Rev. Dr. Sharon Harris-Ewing of Naples, FL on behalf of our Southwest Florida affiliate.
Guest opinion: We call upon the School Board to challenge efforts to 'Christianize' our public schools
This week, Missouri lawmakers passed 2 anti-trans bills: one that would ban gender-affirming care for minors and another that would bar trans athletes from playing on school sports teams that align with their gender.
According to ACLU, more than 474 anti-LGBTQ bills have been introduced nationwide this legislative session, many of them under the guise of "religious freedom".
As people of faith, we have a responsibility to speak out against any law that denies someone their humanity. That is why we are mobilizing faith communities and congregations throughout June, Pride Month, to fight back against anti-LGBTQ+ legislation and rhetoric.
Please join us at FaithForPride.org by signing on as a co-sponsor or registering an event.
P.S. Maharat Rori Picker Neiss, whose tweet is pictured here, is the Executive Director of the Jewish Community Relations Council of St. Louis (JCRC) and the loving mom of a transgender son — be sure to revisit our conversation from this past March on State of Belief: https://stateofbelief.com/segments/rori-picker-neiss-and-nicole-garcia-transgender-faith-and-family/
One of the worst examples of theocratic Christian nationalism in the U.S. today is Michael Flynn's "ReAwaken America Tour" — and it's heading to Trump Doral in Miami this weekend. As Christians and allies, we reject this hateful political agenda. Join us.
Michael Flynn and his anti-democracy pastor pals don't speak for us
Our President, Paul Raushenbush, spoke with Brian Kaylor for today's issue of A Public Witness on recent "faith squabbles" in statehouses.
Read the full story here: https://publicwitness.wordandway.org/p/spiritual-squabbles-in-statehouses
From 'Spiritual Squabbles in Statehouses', Brian Kaylor, May 11, 2023:
“This is why we’re in the trouble we’re in. Some people are abusing power to force others to live under their understanding of what religion is, what their understanding of private morality,” Rev. Paul Raushenbush, president & CEO of Interfaith Alliance, told me. “They’re using a kind of powerplay to show a preeminence of their own faith tradition. And it’s not just about Christianity, it’s their specific brand of Christianity.”
Raushenbush added that the real problem in these recent cases in statehouses is “a lack of empathy.” He noted that a Christian who has no empathy for others might not think about what it would be like for a lawmaker who is Jewish, Hindu, another religion, or of no faith tradition to “have to sit down on a seat that has a cross blazoned on it.”
“There might be other people who experience the world differently, who have different religious beliefs, who have different ways of going about life, but who deserve equal respect. And if you can’t show empathy to your colleagues, how can you legislate for a diverse America?” he added. “I think a lot of the bad legislation we have right now is rooted in this problem of lack of empathy for the experience of others.”
Christian Nationalism teaches inaccurate history about America’s founding. It distorts the teachings of Jesus. And it privileges one faith expression in ways that wrongly cast others as second-class citizens. But these aren’t just philosophical problems. It all impacts how we treat one another. We shouldn’t hide our light under a bushel, but let’s stick the Christian Nationalism in the back of the fridge with the spoiled milk we don’t want to touch.
Voucher programs like this only undermine public education and lead to taxpayer-funded discrimination. Across faith and place, all of us deserve the freedom to believe as we choose.
Any North Carolina family, regardless of income, would be able to request a voucher to attend a private school.
Yahoo News' Jon Ward joins Rev. Paul Raushenbush on this week’s State of Belief to discuss his latest book, Testimony: Inside the Evangelical Movement that Failed a Generation, and his experience growing up in the world of Evangelical Christianity.
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Ensuring every child receives a quality education is a top priority nationwide. Elected leaders must prioritize schools that serve students of all faiths, backgrounds, identities, and abilities. Learn more:
Public schools play a critical role in communities across the country. Their open doors bring diverse …
This week on State of Belief: Rev. Paul Raushenbush speaks with Anisha Singh, Executive Director of The Sikh Coalition, to discuss the growing movement to recognize Sikh Awareness and Appreciation Month.
Listen here:
"As Christian nationalists take advantage of a moment of political precarity to call for a turn toward authoritarian theocracy, the press should be paying attention to those rising up to preserve democracy in America." Read more from Ruth Braunstein via Religion News Service:
(RNS) — Those fighting for our democracy should be making headlines, too.
"They were enacted just five months after a mass shooting at an LGBTQ club in Colorado Springs." Read more via Associated Press about newly passed control legislation in Colorado. Across faith and place, we all deserve to live free from the fear of gun violence.
Colorado’s governor has signed four gun control bills five months after a mass shooting at an LGBTQ nightclub. The new laws enacted Friday include raising the buying age for all fi****ms from 18 to 21 and installing a three-day waiting period between the purchase and receipt of a gun. A gun rights...
Public dollars should never be used to fund religious education. But private school vouchers transfer taxpayer dollars from public schools – open to all – to private schools, the majority of which are religious. Learn more about our work to protect public education:
Public schools play a critical role in communities across the country. Their open doors bring diverse …
Amid rising attacks on the LGBTQ+ community, elected leaders in Michigan are moving to strengthen LGBTQ+ protections within the state’s anti-hate crime law. No matter who you are or where you come from, we all deserve to feel safe in our communities.
A trio of Democratic lawmakers are seeking to update the state’s anti-hate crime law with an expanded definition of hate crime and enhanced penalties. The law has not been updated since its establishment in 1988.
Religious extremists are leading a bigoted, anti-American crusade to erase the experiences of our LGBTQ+ siblings. Across faith and place, we must continue showing up for the LGBTQ+ community.
Almost every of the top 10 books targeted for censorship last year included LGBTQ-related content.
"As Christians, we should be screaming from the rooftops about the danger of being knitted together with government authority. Therefore, it is so important that we have institutions working against that." – Claire Hein Blanton via Baptist News Global
Editor’s note: This is the second opinion piece in a new series on religious liberty authored by BJC Fellows and made possible by a grant from the Prichard Family Foundation. “Stupidity is a more dangerous enemy of the good than malice,” Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote in 1942 about his oppositio...
As Sikh Awareness and Appreciation Month comes to a close, don't miss this weekend's State of Belief with our guest, Anisha Singh, Executive Director of The Sikh Coalition.
Full episode available tomorrow at stateofbelief.com!
Public education has always been a foundation for people from all backgrounds and identities to come together. We must protect that space so all students can thrive.
Learn more about our work to protect church-state separation in public schools:
Public schools play a critical role in communities across the country. Their open doors bring diverse …
“To achieve the social and cultural changes necessary to reduce gun violence, we need individuals and communities of faith — not just progressive people of faith, but all people of faith — to stand against the idolatry of guns in America.” - Tish Warren via The New York Times
It will take not only policy change but also social change to turn the tide.
LGBTQ+ people are valued members of faith communities across the nation and should never feel pressured to choose between their faith and the freedom to live and love freely.
The Holy Spirit Lutheran Church in Kirkland is now the second church this month to be hit with inappropriate flyers left on congregants' cars.
"Shoving the Ten Commandments in the face of all children isn’t what I’d call ‘religious liberty,"' writes Bruce Maiman in HuffPost:
Republicans in the Texas statehouse want a display of the Ten Commandments in every classroom. And that's not all.
Reproductive freedom is religious freedom.
Americans of all faiths and none deserve to make personal health decisions led by their own beliefs and circumstances.
A growing number of Americans -- 34 percent -- think abortion should be allowed at least up until the first six months of pregnancy, if not throughout the entire pregnancy, according to this latest PBS NewsHour/NPR/Marist poll. That support has more than doubled over less than two decades.
This legislation being pushed in Texas flies in the face of our nation’s proud legacy of religious freedom for all and undercuts the vast majority of faithful Americans who are devoted to church-state separation.
(RNS) — Cantor Sheri Allen, co-founder of the Jewish congregation Makom Shelanu, called the bills a “blatant violation of the separation of church and state.”
"We are at a place in the country right now where in many states, the country has shifted, but the composition of our elected officials has certainly not kept up," –PRRI's Robert P. Jones via Axios on the lack of religious diversity in Congress today.
It's a window into why some policies and debates don't reflect what Americans want.
Pregnant people should be able to make decisions grounded in their own values – not their legislators'.
Abortion bans undermine every American's freedom to make decisions based on their own beliefs and needs.
The governor approved the state’s prohibition on Monday, just a month after the State Supreme Court blocked an earlier ban.
Every American deserves to live free from the fear of gun violence. All of us, regardless of background or belief, should feel safe in their communities.
Police say a parent and an opposing coach got into a fight and then one of them retrieved a gun from their car. Someone yelled "shots fired" after seeing the weapon, causing everyone to panic and run.
"There are young, trans people..in little towns and other faith communities who need to know that there are people of faith who don't believe what these other people believe." – Rev. Joe Larson, the first openly gay ELCA pastor in North Dakota via State of Belief. https://bit.ly/3HcldlN
“This isn’t okay. It’s not acceptable. It never was. And it can never be.” – Tree Of Life Congregation's Rabbi Jeffrey Myers ahead of jury selection in the trial of the shooter that attacked his synagogue in 2018. All of us deserve to feel safe in houses of worship.
Three Jewish congregations in Pittsburgh are still waiting for justice four and a half years after the massacre that changed everything. On Oct. 27, 2018, a gunman invaded the Tree of Life synagogue and killed 11 worshippers from three congregations. On Monday, jury selection is scheduled to begin i...
We must “embrace and support this community as part of our larger community and as part of our faith community,” says Barry Nelson, Interim Executive Director of the North Dakota Human Rights Coalition, on the need to support the LGBTQ+ community.
Across faith and place, Americans recognize reproductive freedom is a matter of religious freedom and remain overwhelmingly in support of equal protections for the LGBTQ+ community.
A number of midtier candidates addressed the Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition's spring kickoff in an attempt to break out from the pack.
"I do believe that this is the moment that people of faith are going to be galvanized to stand up for our rights, for the protection of our rights, and for the human dignity of every human being." – Planned Parenthood's Dora Muhammad on the recent judicial attacks against reproductive freedom.
“Religious minorities — Jews, Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs and Seventh-day Adventists — have filed briefs asking the Supreme Court to overturn a ruling that gutted a civil rights statute’s protections for religious accommodation.”
Religious minorities — Jews, Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs and Seventh-day Adventists — have filed briefs asking the Supreme Court to overturn a ruling that gutted a civil rights statute’s protections for religious accommodation.
Interim Executive Director of the North Dakota Human Rights Coaltion, Barry Nelson, and Rev. Joe Larson, the first openly gay ELCA pastor in North Dakota joined Rev. Paul Raushenbush this week on State of Belief to discuss the anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric they’re facing in their state.
Listen here:
Barry Nelson is the interim executive director of the North Dakota Human Rights Coalition, a statewide, membership-based organization established to increase the visibility of human rights needs across the state. During North Dakota’s current legislative session, a record 21 anti-LGBTQ+ bills have...
The wave of anti-trans legislation nationwide – often in the name of religion – only undermines our nation’s promise of equality. Across faith and place, we should all feel obligated to speak out.
The House voted on Thursday to pass a GOP-led bill that would ban transgender athletes from women's and girls' sports at federally funded schools and educational institutions.
This week on State of Belief: Rev. Paul Raushenbush is joined by Planned Parenthood's Dora Muhammad to discuss the abortion pill case being case being considered by and the fight for reproductive freedom following the reversal of Roe v. Wade.
Listen here:
SegmentsFaith Engagement at Planned ParenthoodInterfaith Alliance of North DakotaFaith should be a bridge not a bludgeon. And yet, the Religious Right continues to weaponize religion to attack our LGBTQ+ siblings, religious minorities, and access to reproductive health care. This week on State of Be...
Read more from Reckon about how the LGBTQ Community Iftar, hosted by The Le***an, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center, "acts as a haven for Muslims who are LGBTQ to show up fully, with no compromise."
We spoke to organizers, activists, and scholars to hear how they are making space for both their LGBTQ and Muslim identities during Ramadan. Here are four ways they are forging themselves their own paths as LGBTQ Muslims.
All of us, regardless of background or belief, deserve equal treatment in the workplace. But for the first time in nearly forty years, is considering whether employers should treat religion differently than all other protected groups.
All of us deserve equal treatment in the workplace. Nondiscrimination laws are designed to ensure that …
Every American deserves to live free from the fear of gun violence. All of us, regardless of background or belief, should feel safe in their communities.
New CDC data shows that gun violence is now the leading cause of death in children across the country and in Alabama.
“Historically, the tendency to overreach by conservative religious activists in school politics has prompted other citizens to pay attention and to use their own influence to counter these measures.” Read more from Baptist News Global:
Over the past few years, MAGA politicians and local activists have made education, especially the teaching of history, a hot spot in the culture wars — with the megaphone of Fox News. In the waning days of his presidency, Donald Trump established the widely panned “1776 Project” to promote his...
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Leading into tomorrow's election, Doug Pagitt and Vote Common Good have been out on the road speaking with voters about the dangers of #ChristianNationalism and the candidates espousing the ideology on the trail. More this week on State of Belief: https://stateofbelief.com/showarchive/2022/november-5-2022-the-power-of-the-vote/
This week on State of Belief, hear from League of Women Voters of Florida President, Cecile Scoon, about the origins of League of Women Voters of the US and how its mission has evolved over time. More here: https://stateofbelief.com/showarchive/2022/november-5-2022-the-power-of-the-vote/
Ahead of next week's election, join Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharis and The Poor People's Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival TONIGHT for a national GOTV rally at 8pm ET! More info is available at poorpeoplescampaign.org/livestream!
“In this election season, reach out to everyone you know, and invite them to join you in that sacred act of voting and choosing a future for our country that represents us all. Leaving nobody behind, leaving no person out and celebrating our democracy. That out of many, we can be one.” Watch Rev. Paul Raushenbush's pre-election message: https://bit.ly/3zGErw0
With our democracy and the sacred right to vote under attack, consider joining our friends at Skinner Leadership Institute and consider serving as a poll chaplain on #ElectionDay! More info this week on State of Belief: https://stateofbelief.com/showarchive/2022/october-29-2022-midterm-mania-and-the-fight-to-protect-democracy/
Finding common ground across lines of difference is the only way to defeat hate. Hear more from Dr. Williams-Skinner with Rev. Raushenbush on this week’s State of Belief: https://stateofbelief.com/showarchive/2022/october-29-2022-midterm-mania-and-the-fight-to-protect-democracy/
On this week’s State of Belief, hear from Jack Jenkins at Religion News Service on how religious extremists and figures on the far-right have joined forces to promote #ChristianNationalism. More here: https://stateofbelief.com/showarchive/2022/october-29-2022-midterm-mania-and-the-fight-to-protect-democracy/
Get involved with Dr. Barbara Williams-Skinner and Faiths United To Save Democracy! They’re seeking out poll chaplains to protect voters and deescalate potentially dangerous situations at the polls on Election Day. ---> turnoutsunday.com More tomorrow on State of Belief!
“The enemy is hate. The enemy is injustice. The enemy is a society where everyone does not matter.” Don’t miss Dr. Barbara Williams-Skinner on this week’s State of Belief. https://stateofbelief.com/how-to-listen/
Listen to Rev. Fred Davie on this week’s State of Belief discuss why voting is a sacred act and the anti-democratic actions of elected officials who are actively suppressing the vote: https://bit.ly/3gv8O1K
“Positive social change is the articulation of an ideal and the building of concrete institutions to that ideal.” More from Interfaith America president Eboo Patel on State of Belief on the role of institutions in shaping stronger, more inclusive communities: https://bit.ly/3gv8O1K
No one should be able to impose their own beliefs on others. Don’t miss Rev. Paul Raushenbush on this week’s State of Belief discuss how we can respect the beliefs of our neighbors while still living out our own truths. Listen: https://bit.ly/3MHOWV9
“If we can’t get together as religious leaders and bring that sense of morality and that sense of a truth–not single truth, but a joined truth–then who’s going to do it?” Cath the full State of Belief segment featuring Rev. Paul Naamon, President of Interfaith Alliance of Upstate New York, in conversation with Rev. Paul Raushenbush: https://bit.ly/3MHOWV9
The #ChristianNationalism movement is on a mission to install and preserve minority rule. Hear more from Rabbi Carl Choper, President of The Interfaith Alliance of Pennsylvania, on what’s at stake in this week’s State of Belief: https://bit.ly/3MHOWV9
"As many of our partners in the Jewish community have already pointed out: American Jews don’t need the former president to define what it means to be Jewish." Full statement from our president and CEO, Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush: https://bit.ly/3eEszmU
The Christian nationalist movement is dangerously associated with authoritarianism and white supremacy. Don’t miss Dr. Andrew Whitehead from the Center for the Study of Religion and American Culture on this week’s State of Belief https://bit.ly/3MogXRy
“We’re in the middle of a war on women, period…and we have got to have our eyes wide open on this,” says Reshma Saujani on this week’s State of Belief: https://bit.ly/3SUMltj
Dr. Andrew Whitehead's research on the history, ideology, and goals of the Christian nationalism movement is essential to understanding this pivotal moment. Be sure to check out our discussion with him on this week’s State of Belief: https://bit.ly/3MogXRy
The Religious Right is distorting history, facts, and theology to advance their extremist agenda – and people of all faiths and none are paying the price. Hear more from Skye Perryman on this week’s State of Belief: https://bit.ly/3SUMltj
The Christian nationalist agenda represents a grave threat to the rights of marginalized communities, says Dr. Sabrina Dent on State of Belief. Catch our full interview with Dr. Dent here: https://bit.ly/3MogXRy
People of faith overwhelmingly support abortion rights and LGBTQ+ protections - no matter what you might hear from the Religious Right. Hear Rev. Paul Raushenbush's full State of Belief conversation with Reshma Saujani and Skye Perryman: https://bit.ly/3SUMltj
In the aftermath of the horrific hostage crisis at the Beth Israel Congregation in Colleyville, Interfaith Alliance is renewing its call for collective action to address religious extremism in each of our communities, and stressing the importance of suppressing hate before it reaches the doorsteps of our congregations. Moderated by Interfaith Alliance’s president, Rabbi Jack Moline, the panel will convene Rabbi Nancy Kasten and Pastor Bob Roberts, Jr. to speak to how we can combat hate in our respective communities, as well as how interfaith partnerships are a vital tool in this effort.
For this season's final episode of The American Purpose, Rabbi Jack Moline speaks with Brennan Center for Justice at NYU Law's Dr. Ted Johnson about the values needed to uphold a true liberal democracy. Inspired by a collection of essays published in the early 1960s entitled “The National Purpose,” this series invites diverse leaders to answer the same questions its predecessor asked – where are we headed, and where should we be headed? – amid a pandemic, racial justice uprisings, rising white nationalism, and a new presidential administration. Visit our website to learn more: https://bit.ly/3jFqfdJ
This week on The American Purpose, Rabbi Jack Moline speaks with Manjit Singh, co-founder and chairman of the Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund, about how we can ensure our founding values of religious and individual freedom are applied equally. Inspired by a collection of essays published in the early 1960s entitled “The National Purpose,” this series invites diverse leaders to answer the same questions its predecessor asked – where are we headed, and where should we be headed? – amid a pandemic, racial justice uprisings, rising white nationalism, and a new presidential administration. Visit our website to learn more: https://bit.ly/3jFqfdJ
This week on The American Purpose, Rabbi Jack Moline speaks with Rev. Raymond Chang, president of the Asian American Christian Collaborative, on how our most basic tenets of liberty and justice can be applied today to create a more equitable society. Inspired by a collection of essays published in the early 1960s entitled “The National Purpose,” this series invites diverse leaders to answer the same questions its predecessor asked – where are we headed, and where should we be headed? – amid a pandemic, racial justice uprisings, rising white nationalism, and a new presidential administration. Visit our website to learn more: https://bit.ly/3jFqfdJ
This week on The American Purpose, Rabbi Jack Moline speaks with Rabbi Shai Held on how we can achieve the American promise of equality by creating a more caring society, and more. Inspired by a collection of essays published in the early 1960s entitled “The National Purpose,” this series invites diverse leaders to answer the same questions its predecessor asked – where are we headed, and where should we be headed? – amid a pandemic, racial justice uprisings, rising white nationalism, and a new presidential administration. Visit our website to learn more: https://bit.ly/3jFqfdJ
This week on The American Purpose, Rabbi Jack Moline speaks with Tony Beam, Christian radio host and director of church and community engagement at North Greenville University, on how we can ensure our nation's founding principles remain protected and applied equally today. Inspired by a collection of essays published in the early 1960s entitled “The National Purpose,” this series invites diverse leaders to answer the same questions its predecessor asked – where are we headed, and where should we be headed? – amid a pandemic, racial justice uprisings, rising white nationalism, and a new presidential administration. Visit our website to learn more: https://bit.ly/3jFqfdJ
Valerie Brown, co-director of Georgetown’s Institute for Transformational Leadership and Chief Mindfulness Officer of Lead Smart Coaching, LLC joins Rabbi Jack Moline for this week's episode of The American Purpose! Inspired by a collection of essays published in the early 1960s entitled “The National Purpose,” this series invites twelve diverse leaders to answer the same questions its predecessor asked – where are we headed, and where should we be headed? – amid a pandemic, racial justice uprisings, rising white nationalism, and a new presidential administration. Visit our website to learn more: https://bit.ly/3jFqfdJ
Bill Kristol, director of Defending Democracy Together and editor-at-large of The Bulwark, joins Rabbi Jack Moline for this week's episode of The American Purpose! Inspired by a collection of essays published in the early 1960s entitled “The National Purpose,” this series invites twelve diverse leaders to answer the same questions its predecessor asked – where are we headed, and where should we be headed? – amid a pandemic, racial justice uprisings, rising white nationalism, and a new presidential administration. Visit our website to learn more: https://bit.ly/3jFqfdJ
Longtime friend of Interfaith Alliance and senior director of the Faith and Progressive Policy Initiative at the Center for American Progress Maggie Siddiqi joins Rabbi Jack Moline for this week's episode of The American Purpose. Inspired by a collection of essays published in the early 1960s entitled “The National Purpose,” this series invites twelve diverse leaders to answer the same questions its predecessor asked – where are we headed, and where should we be headed? – amid a pandemic, racial justice uprisings, rising white nationalism, and a new presidential administration. Visit our website to learn more: https://bit.ly/3jFqfdJ
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